The Animal and Plant Health Association (APHA), in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine Resources, Teagasc, Irish Water, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Ireland, will hold three training events this week on herbicide best practices and pesticides.
These training events are intended for farm consultants, farm managers and others involved in improving the management of herbicides and pesticides in order to ensure their effectiveness and prevent any risks to the environment and, in particular, water quality.
Training events will be held in the following places:
- Tuesday, May 28, Teagasc College of Agriculture, Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan
- Wednesday, May 29, Teagasc College of Agriculture, Kildalton, Co. Kilkenny;
- Thursday, May 30, Teagasc College of Agriculture, Pallaskenry, Co. Limerick.
Each event will include morning classroom instruction, followed by a hands-on demonstration in the afternoon using a fully functional demo sprayer. These events have been specifically adapted for Irish farming enterprises and practices.
Commenting on the events, the executive director of the Association for the Protection of Animal and Plant Health of Ireland, John Keogh, said: “The contamination of drinking water with pesticides has become a serious environmental problem.
Our goal is to increase the awareness of farmers and their advisers about environmental risk factors, as well as supporting farmers' consultants in understanding the ways in which drinking water pollution can occur and how they can be prevented by good management. ”
