Pesticide Drift
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is now offering FieldWatch, a free online communication tool that aims to protect specialty crops, row crops, and honeybees from accidental exposure to pesticides. FieldWatch provides pesticide applicators with a means to access specialty crop or beehive locations close to application sites. FieldWatch is a repository for:
- DriftWatch: A registry for specialty/sensitive and row crop growers.
- BeeCheck: A registry for beekeepers.
- FieldCheck: A mechanism for pesticide applicators to access notification and location information for sensitive/specialty crops and beehives in their area.
Specialty crop growers can register their field locations, contact information, and other pertinent information for access by nearby pesticide applicators. Specialty crop examples include orchards, grapes, tomatoes, greenhouses, herbicide-intolerant row crops, and organic crops.
BeeCheck allows beekeepers to register hive locations, contact information, and information for surrounding pesticide applicators to consult prior to making pesticide applications. Beekeepers have the option to set their locations to "private", allowing only registered users access to their information.
Pesticide applicators can sign up for FieldCheck to access information from the BeeCheck and DriftWatch registries. Registered pesticide applicators can set up a custom area of interest to receive notifications when a new crop or beehive location is registered.
The purpose of FieldWatch is to promote communication between pesticide applicators and those with specialty/sensitive crops. Participation in FieldWatch is voluntary for pesticide applicators, crop growers, and beekeepers. Registering your crop or beehive locations does not create a no spray zone or guarantee pesticides will not be sprayed near your location.
All FieldWatch account information is verified through our data steward. For questions or assistance with registering, please contact our data steward Shane Williams at stw5035@psu.edu or 814-863-9606.