The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Land Management => Topic started by: Jamie12 on April 28, 2015, 11:26:45 am
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Having a debate with my landlord.
A good portion of his Land needs sprayed for thistles, dockings, ragwort and various weeds.
He has no tickets to spray, but a local boy could do it for him. Landlord seems to think the actual spraying machine needs a ticket also.
Told him to get a local contractor in who specializes in spraying but thinks it will cost to much, and I can see it being left.
What is the regulations on it being done with a sprayer on a persons back?.
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You should comply with The Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA) and Control of Pesticide Regulations 1986 (COPR).
http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/guidance/industries/pesticides/topics/pesticide-approvals/legislation/fepa-and-copr (http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/guidance/industries/pesticides/topics/pesticide-approvals/legislation/fepa-and-copr)
As long as you do there nothing to stop you doing it yourself (as far as I know) until the law changes in November.
Of course no one is going to stock up on chemicals before then and carry on as usual are they? :-J
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To stop this a lot of suppliers are asking to see tickets already
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I don't know about tickets - is that a Scottish thing? - but husband has just got his spraying licenses. Here you need a PA1 which is the basic spraying certificate and then another certificate for every method of applying the spray that you will use so that may be what he's talking about. He also got his backpack spraying certificate (PA6, I think) but he hasn't got the tractor one yet. There is also one for spraying in water courses and there must be a couple of others (to fill in the PA gaps!). It used to be that if you were spraying on your own land you didn't need the certificates but that has now changed (it depends on your date of birth or something but it's our land and we needed to have somebody qualified now - not sure what's happening in November?). Having said that, the spraying certificate just allows you to buy and apply the chemicals in bulk. I don't believe you're breaking the law if you can argue it's your own garden and just buy the chemicals from the local garden centre. It's an expensive long term solution though....although paying for the spraying courses and then for the official assessment was very expensive for what it was (cynic in me says the government makes a tidy cut from it).
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I bought some Grazon the other day and didn't get asked for any license/ticket.
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I usually spray about 10 acres with pasture and a hand held sprayer...I rent out for sheep so only have to spray for occasional thistles...nettles.Not sure what happened to the ragwort? I am hoping will still be able to still buy " pasture " without any fuss.
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my supplier told me last autumn that there would be no restriction on buying the chemicals after nov 15, but it would be up to me to see that they were applied only by someone with the appropriate certs.
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yes bought some pastur today..2 litres for £37 at Wynnstay...given a leaflet urging me to adhere to regulations...