Thursday, January 28, 2016

CEU Round-up, WPS revisions, Carpet Beetles, & Garden Programs



CEU Round-up!!!

Travis County East Service Center
6011 Blue Bluff Rd., Austin, TX 78724

MUST PAY WITH CHECK OR MONEY ORDER!  MUST RSVP (details at bottom).

A)   Wednesday, February 10th at Blue Bluff East Service Center 10AM - 5:30PM
            6 CEUs (3 GEN, 2 IPM, 1 L&R)
            Cost: $60 - includes light breakfast, lunch, snacks, and beverages

            Dr. Bob Lyons, Professor & Extension Range Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
            Brush & Weed Control, Label reading (2 hours)
            Mr. Jacob Hetzel & Mr. Stefan Hunt, Wildlife Biologists, Texas Wildlife Service
            Feral Hog & Coyote Management (2 hours)
            Dr. Sonja Swiger, Livestock/Veterinary Entomologist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
            External Parasites on cattle (1 hour)
            Ms. Wizzie Brown, Extension Program Specialist – IPM
            Pest control in storage areas (grain and feed areas) (1 hour)
              
B) Wednesday, February 10th at Blue Bluff East Service Center 5:30PM - 7:45PM
            2 CEUs (1 GEN & 1 L&R) 
            Cost: $15 - includes snacks and beverages (NO dinner)

            Delivered via video from “Last Chance Series”
                 

C)    Monday, February 29th at Blue Bluff East Service Center 9AM - 4:30PM
             CEUs (2 GEN, 3 IPM, 1 L&R)
             Cost: $60 - includes light breakfast, lunch, snacks, and beverages

             Dr. Todd Sink, Assistant Professor & Fisheries Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
             Livestock tank and pond management (4 of the 6 hours)
             Mr. Jody Stelzig, Inspector, Texas Department of Agriculture
             Laws and regulations (1 hour)              
                  Ms. Daphne Richards, County Extension Agent – Horticulture, Travis
             Preventing Pests through Plant Selection (1 hour)
               

D)   Monday, February 29th at Blue Bluff East Service Center 4:30PM - 6:45PM
            2 CEUs (2 IPM)
            Cost: $15 - includes snacks and beverages (NO dinner)
            
            Delivered via video from “Last Chance Series”
               
An opportunity for great speakers, delicious food, CEUs and we guarantee you’ll be entertained and learn something new!  To RSVP - email Sue Carrasco at: sacarrasco@ag.tamu.edu.  RSVP for A&B by Monday, February 8 at 3PM!  RSVP for C&D by Thursday, February 25 at 3 PM! You MUST PAY WITH CHECK OR MONEY ORDER!!  NO CASH!!  Please make checks payable to: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.  We hope to hear from you soon.  This is a popular course and it fills quickly.  Let Sue know which classes you are interested in attending by class letter: A,B,C,D or any combination of the four. 

Thanks!
Julie Zimmerman
CEA - Agriculture & Natural Resources
Travis County


Educational programs of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age, or national origin.  The Texas A&M System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas cooperating
A member of the Texas A&M University System and its statewide Agriculture Program


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Pulled from:

Monthly Safety Blast                 
Produced by the Southwest Center for Agricultural Health, Injury Prevention and Education



EPA Announces Revisions to WPS
EPA is finalizing updates and revisions to the existing worker protection regulation for pesticides. This final rule will enhance the protections provided to agricultural workers, pesticide handlers, and other persons under the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) by strengthening elements of the existing regulation, such as training, notification, pesticide safety and hazard communication information, use of personal protective equipment, and the provision of supplies for routine washing and emergency decontamination.

EPA expects this final rule to prevent unreasonable adverse effects from exposure to pesticides among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers, vulnerable groups (such as minority and low-income populations, child farmworkers, and farmworker families) and other persons who may be on or near agricultural establishments, and to mitigate exposures that do occur.

In order to reduce compliance burdens for family-owned farms, in the final rule EPA has expanded the existing definition of “immediate family” and continued the existing exemption from many provisions of the WPS for owners and members of their immediate families.

Some major changes to the current WPS will include:
  • First-time ever minimum age requirement: Children under 18 are prohibited from handling pesticides.
  • Changes in personal protective equipment will be consistent with DOL’s standards for ensuring respirators are effective, including fit test, medical evaluation and training.
  • Continue the exemption for farm owners and their immediate families with an expanded definition of immediate family.
  • Mandatory record-keeping to improve states’ ability to follow up on pesticide violations and enforce compliance. Records of application-specific pesticide information, as well as farmworker training, must be kept for two years.
  • Requirement to provide more than one way for farmworkers and their representatives to gain access to pesticide application information and safety data sheets – centrally-posted, or by requesting records.
  • Specific amounts of water to be used for routine washing, emergency eye flushing and other decontamination, including eye wash systems for handlers at pesticide mixing/loading sites.
These changes will begin January 4, 2016. Full enforcement of changes will officially begin on January 4, 2017 (except for the expanded training content and the new exclusion zone requirement which will be enforced after January 4, 2018). The farm owners and employers will have a one year grace period to make all appropriate changes before they are subject to fines/penalties from regulatory agencies if not in compliance come 2017.

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 Carpet beetles - by Wizzie Brown, Extension Specialist.
ebrown@ag.tamu.edu
Catch her blog: http://urban-ipm.blogspot.com


Carpet beetles are pests in warehouses, homes, museums and other locations. Adults can be found out-doors on crape myrtles or shrubs or in bird and rodent nests. When carpet beetles move indoors they can become pests.
Carpet beetle adults are small, round to oval shaped and often brightly colored. Larvae are small, tan and ringed with bands of long hairs. Carpet beetles like high protein foods, usually animal based, but they can also feed on plant material. They can be found in a variety of locations throughout the home. In the pantry, you may find them in items such as powdered milk, dried meats (jerky) or pet food. Other areas of the home they can be attracted to items made from wool, fur or feathers, areas where dead insects accumulate (i.e. light fixtures), leather book bindings, hair, silk or dried plant products. Adults do not feed on animal products; they feed on pollen and nectar. A program utilizing sanitation, exclusion and insecticides should be able to get a carpet beetle problem under control. Tips for carpet beetles:
- Clean accumulations of hair, dead insects and bird, rodent or wasp nests
- Regular cleaning of rugs, carpets, upholstery, etc. (make sure to get along edges and under & in furniture)
- Inspect animal based items (mounted trophy animals, leathers, wools, silks, etc.) once a year to avoid infestations
-Store items in sealed, air-tight containers
-Infested items (if possible, depending on the items) can be heated or cooled to kill any beetles- freeze 2 weeks at temperatures below 18°F or heat for at least 30 minutes to temperatures above 120°F
- Insecticides should be used as spot treatments- make sure carpet beetles are listed on the label as well as the area/ item you are treating; make sure the product will not stain

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Texas First Detector
Saturday, February 6, 2016
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Zilker Botanical Garden
2220 Barton Springs Road, Austin 78746
“See something, say something”…a program that gardeners can use to improve observation skills detecting invasive pests (insects) and diseases such as the brown marmorated stink bug and rose rosette (see picture) that may appear and cause problems in our gardens and landscapes. Susan Jung and Tommie Clayton, Travis County Master Gardeners, will introduce you to the National Plant Diagnostic Network program, review “wanted posters” so you’ll know what to look for, provide web based resources, and where to report sightings for confirmation.

Seminar is free and open to the public, No RSVP is required
Zilker park entrance fee is $2 per adult, $1 per child (ages 3-12) or seniors (age 62 & over), $3 for non-Austin Residents. Cash or check accepted.
For more information contact: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service – Travis County, 512-854-9600. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/local-extension-resources/calendar-2/

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Effects on Insect Ecology: How You Can Help
Thursday, February 11, 2016
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service-Travis County
1600-B Smith Road, Austin, 78721
The talk covers why insects and other arthropods are important to humans and other animals, how drought impacts various insect groups and how people can help attract and keep insects in their yard even in times of drought. Wizzie Brown serves as Program Specialist – IPM in the Austin metroplex encompassing Travis County and surrounding counties. Visit her blog at http://urban-ipm.blogspot.com/

Cost: $10 through 2/1; $15 starting 2/2 and on-site
NO cash accepted - checks and credit cards only.

Space is limited so register on-line early to reserve your seat!
Register: https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/TravisCounty
Register by Phone: 979-845-2604
Contact: Sue Carrasco, 512-854-9610 or sacarrasco@ag.tamu.edu
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/local-extension-resources/calendar-2/
Visit the Central Texas Horticulture website: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/index.html

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