Pesticide Policy, Adjuvants & Safety
Ed Messina, Director of EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs
Attend the NAAA General Session on Tuesday, Dec. 5, for an enlightening look at the pesticide policymaking process, adjuvants and keys to making safe turns in flight. Leading off, you’ll hear from Ed Messina, the director of the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP)—the federal agency that approves pesticides’ availability on the market and how they may be used. Messina will update attendees on the different divisions within the OPP and how they weigh the risks and benefits of pesticides per the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). He will also explain how other federal statutes affect pesticide policies relating to the aerial application industry, including how the Endangered Species Act and lawsuits from eco-activist groups are resulting in more rules and restrictions on how a pesticide might be used aerially. Messina will also discuss how using more sophisticated technology and models may result in more accurate risk assessments and more prescribed and targeted regulations.
Terry Kippley, President of the Council of Producers and Distributors of Agrotechnology
The General Session’s second segment will focus on adjuvants. Terry Kippley is the president of the Council of Producers and Distributors of Agrotechnology (CPDA), whose members manufacture, formulate and distribute approximately 80% of the $13 billion crop protection market. Kippley will talk about the rigor and professionalism of the CPDA Adjuvant Certification labeling program to ensure the efficacy of these tank mixes to our crop protection products.
Before becoming president of the CPDA at the beginning of 2022, Kippley was president of Aceto Agricultural Chemicals, a global niche post-patent crop protection company. Kippley began his career at Monsanto in field sales He was a long-term board member and past president of the Mid-America CropLife Association. After being raised on a dairy farm near Madison, Wisconsin, Kippley graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago.
Turning Safely Session, Moderated by Fran De Kock, Battlefords Airspray
The final General Session topic will cover turning safely and in a manner to maximize application efficacy when flying an ag aircraft. Fran De Kock of Battlefords Airspray in North Battleford, SK Canada will moderate the session. Fran has been offering ag training since 1983 and in 1999 he launched a formal training program and developed Battlefords’ agricultural aviation training program. The operation provides initial and recurrent pilot training, including private, commercial, night rating and tailwheel conversion training, as well as turbine transition training in an Air Tractor 504. Fran’s aerial application training has been frequently referenced in the PAASS program. In this session you’ll listen with a panel of ag pilots and operators share their experiences and advice for turning safely. Some topics for discussion include stall/spin accidents from improperly turning an aircraft, what a safe turn looks and feels like, margin of safety, choosing the correct turnaround maneuver, normalization of deviance and other important aspects of turning smart.
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