The Aerial Application Association of Australia Joins the Effort to Modernize AGDISP

Last week, NAAA issued a press release to multiple and widely circulated agricultural media outlets throughout the U.S., announcing that the Aerial Application Association of Australia (AAAA) has pledged resources towards the effort to modernize AGDISP (Agricultural DISpersion), the pesticide-drift model software. 

The modernization effort is being carried out by the AGDISP Modernization Project (AMP), established by NAAA, and is investing $600,000 over five years to modernize AGDISP. The funding raised to date— $545,000— includes a pledge of $25,000 from AAAA, $50,000 donation from Bayer, a $30,000 donation from the National Corn Growers Association, a $35,000 donation from the Cotton Foundation, a five-year, $250,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control via the American Mosquito Control Association, $100,000 from the National Agricultural Aviation Association and $55,000 from the National Agricultural Aviation Research and Education Foundation. AMP is essential for all growers and pesticide applicators.

AMP is incredibly grateful to AAAA for its donation. It is NAAA’s hope that other pesticide industry organizations and grower groups will join in supporting the project. The modernization effort aims to update the AGDISP model using current computing technology  better enabling modern environmental stewardship tools and precision agriculture practices to be incorporated into the pesticide regulatory process. An updated model would facilitate site- and environment-specific risk assessments, and  support drift-reduction techniques, and allow regulators to evaluate more realistic application scenarios. These improvements could lead to more accurate ecological and human health risk assessments while recognizing the drift-reduction benefits of new application technologies and practices used by farmers and applicators.

For more information about the AGDISP Modernization Project or to contribute, visit here.