Are you keeping a record of your spraying activities? Most growers now do. There are several reasons as to why;

• Employees have a right to know which fields can be entered and which have been recently sprayed, a copy of your spray records with detailed REI’s (re-entry intervals) should be posted in a location where employees can easily check them
• Many food processors and buyers require spray records as a verification tool to demonstrate that labels and procedures where properly followed
• Record keeping allows the farmer to check back to previous years for reference on what products were used to target specific issues and how effective they were.
• Many products have a maximum number of times they can be applied, or will adversely affect each other.
• Record keeping allows the farmer to estimate chemical needs for the year, enabling them to make bulk purchases in the spring for cost savings, and also reducing the amount of product left to overwinter in chemical sheds.
• Spray records can be used as a legal defense if accusations of improper spraying arise.

That’s a lot for one document to cover, and we want to make the most out of efforts

Template type

It’s important to format your record in a way that is easy to understand, isn’t a hassle to fill out and fulfills any legal requirements you need to meet.  Here is a couple of templates as an example;

This one goes chronologically down. I like this layout in particular if you are doing lots of different things in different blocks, or you need a format that is easily referenced by a lot of people.

This one goes chronologically across. This is a nice layout because you only need to fill in the product info once for multiple applications, and you can list multiple products going on in the same day (tank mixing). You do however require separate sheets for each block.

Information

What kind of information should you be keeping track of on your spray record? Information kept will vary depending on the specific needs of the farmer, these are some common important items;

• what is being sprayed – the product name and/or active ingredient
• the products chemical group number and the maximum number of times it can be applied within a season*.
• how much material is being applied per acre/hectare (use whatever units you are comfortable with, but keep it consistent, switching back and forth can create confusion)
• the date and time of starting and finishing the spray
• the location and size of the field/area being sprayed
• the name of the sprayer operator
• the Re-Entry and Pre-Harvest intervals of the spray material

*Remember that the max application number applies to all products within a group number and not just the product you are using at the time!

All of the important information you need regarding application rates and timing intervals you should be able to locate on the products data label. It’s also a good idea to peel the data label off and hang onto it should you need to reference it at any time in the future.

Remember that this is your own record, feel free to make notes and take down other information that can help you establish a pattern and give you valuable information for future reference, items might include

• why your using this product
• how effective you found it to be after the spray
• the stage of growth of your crop at the time
• the wind, temperature and weather at the time of application
• the stage of infestation you are treating (preventative, light, moderate, heavy, sporadic)

Records should be kept on file for a minimum of two years.

Knowing what you did, why you did it and if it works is key to running a successful operation! If you keep a detailed record of your spray activities you will have a useful tool for future referencing that will help you run your operations more effectively.