By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A joint resolution introduced by Illinois state Sen. David Koehler (D-Peoria) would call for the creation of a website the state’s aerial crop applicators could turn for the locations of specialty crop farms, in an effort to reduce accidental chemical drift.

The identification system would be administered by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and has the approval of the Illinois Agricultural Aviation Assoc., Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Assoc.

“I encourage all organic and specialty crop farmers to register with this website and to make every effort to keep their information current and accurate,” Koehler said in a prepared statement. “We have a great opportunity to minimize crop damage from chemical drift, but only if everyone actively participates.”

Still in the planning stage, IDOA officials hope the website at www.driftwatch.org will be online before planting season in 2011. The resolution would also direct the University of Illinois extension service’s pesticide education program to inform aerial applicators about the website and encourage its usage.

Rep. Don Moffitt (R-Gilson) was assigned as the sponsor of a duplicate bill in the Illinois House. A lifelong farmer, Moffitt said the resolution is a “great step in the right direction” for helping ease tension between organic growers and vintners, and their rural neighbors who are mainstream farmers.

“Now the aerial applicators can know where the areas are that could be a concern for drifting. At the present time, there is no way for them to know that,” said Moffitt. “We need conventional agriculture, and we need to be able to apply chemicals to continue to produce an abundant and efficient supply of food. The website will help both conventional and (specialty) agriculture to continue in harmony. Both are important to our economy.”

Terra Brockman, founder of The Land Connection, called the Senate joint resolution “an extremely weak response to an extremely serious situation.” Brockman, whose organization promotes organic farming, said the resolution needs the inclusion of a pre-notification system for the benefit of specialty crop growers.

“It should not be too difficult,” she told the Peoria Journal Star.
“(A pre-notification system) can be addressed as a separate issue, if it is a problem,” Moffitt told Farm World, in response. “Advance notice is something that could be worked out if there appears to be a need for that. I see that issue as separate from the need to have a website where applicators, producers and organic farmers can keep each other informed.”

Penalties for applicators in case of accidental chemical drift or ignoring the directive of the extension’s pesticide education program are likewise not addressed in the language of the joint Senate resolution.

“Aerial applicators are highly regulated and highly trained individuals,” said Moffitt. “I expect them to want to use (the website), and I expect them to want to comply. The last thing you want to do is create a problem for a neighbor, and this will help eliminate that possibility.”

The website is being produced at no cost to the state of Illinois because of funding provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.