The Ohio Sensitive Crop RegistryThe Ohio Sensitive Crop Registry(OSCR)(OSCR)

Jared Shaffer

GIMS Specialist

Ohio Department of Agriculture

2014 Ohio GIS ConferenceSeptember 22 - 24, 2014 | Hyatt Regency Columbus| Columbus, Ohio

OSCR

• A voluntary informational tool designed to allow stakeholders an effective way to communicate and protect pesticide-sensitive crops and apiaries from drift

– Helps applicators be aware of where sensitive locations are

• Web app powered by ArcGIS Viewer

Why does this exist?

• ODA’s role– Pesticide & Fertilizer Regulation Section

licenses over 30,000 pesticide applicators and more than 13,000 pesticide products operating in the state of Ohio

– Develop and enforce rules regarding pesticide use and applicator training, investigate damage claims

Why does this exist? (cont.)

• Applicator’s role:– Certified pesticide applicators are not only

responsible for their own protection, but also for the protection of other people, non-target organisms and our environment

– More than 180 million pounds of glyphosate (i.e., Roundup) is used in agricultural production annually

Why does this exist? (cont.)

• What’s changing?– The increasing and continued use of

glyphosate has resulted in the increase of resistant weeds

– Sept 16 the USDA released its EIS concerning the nonregulated status of 2,4-D resistant corn and soybean

Why does this exist? (cont.)

• USDA is not opposed to the use of 2,4-D resistant crops– USDA predicts this will result in a 200-600%

increase in 2,4-D use by 2020– Dicamba resistant crops are expected to be

approved as well

• While 2,4-D and dicamba will help deal with glyphosate resistant weeds, they tend to drift more

Pesticide-sensitive Industry

• Ohio is ranked 3rd at growing tomatoes for processing– 156,600 tons, $17.7 million

• 9th for grape production with 5,300 tons, $3.6 million– nearly 200 wineries that produce more than 1.1

million gallons per year

• 1.1 million lbs of honey at $2.42/lbs

• Those who grow crops which are not engineered to be resistant to 2,4-D or dicamba are concerned about increased damage from drift– Pesticide exposure is one of many issues bee

keepers contend with

• Development was driven by tomato and grape industries

OSCR

• Ohio is one of 18 states which have a mapping system for pesticide-sensitive locations

• This is viewed as a service ODA provides, it is user-driven and participation of all stakeholders is necessary for its success

demo

Registry Policies

Stakeholders– Pesticide applicators: private and commercial

– Commercial producers of pesticide-sensitive crops

– Apiarists

Only registered users can enter or retrieve information

User Needs

– Producers• Flexibility to modify registered locations

• Data protection

• Needs to be as simple as possible to encourage use– User manual, quick-start guide, video tutorials

– Applicators• An intuitive search of their area of interest

• Get the info they need in the format they need it– Producer contact info, location, distance

– Print map, download table of information (Excel, shapefile, pdf)

• After user approval, producers and apiarists have access to drawing tools– Can choose to share contact info or provide

other descriptions– Are able to edit features at any time, are

required to ‘renew’ or otherwise change existing features annually

• After features are approved, they become available to query– Summary information about the geometry as

well as user-provided information is displayed

Status

• Launched: March 2014

• Over 400 registered users– 63 Apiarists– 118 Producers– 223 Applicators

• 5,923 acres of sensitive locations registered

More Information?

Jared Shaffer, GIMS Specialist

Phone: 614-728-6386

Email: Jared.Shaffer@agri.ohio.gov

Fax: 614-466-9754

Ohio Department of Agriculture

Division of Plant Health

Pesticide & Fertilizer Regulation Section

8995 E. Main Street, Bldg. 23

Reynoldsburg, OH 43068-3399