Wisconsin farms that conduct their own pest management control practices need to be certified through the Pesticide Applicator Training (PAT) process to purchase or apply restricted-use-pesticides.
The process for ordering the PAT manual and registering for a training/test session has undergone significant changes. Anyone wanting to re-certify or become certified must visit the PAT website www.patstore.wisc.edu to get started in the process.
For most farms, the category will be 100/101 General Farming, but some will select Fruit Crops or Greenhouse/Nursery. This will allow farmers to order the manual ($43), but they also need to register and pay ($10) to attend one of the local training sessions if they want to certify.
Local training/testing sessions will be held Feb. 21 at Pound Town Hall, W8484 County Road B, Coleman; March 6 at the Shawano County Courthouse, 311 N. Main St., Shawano; and March 25 at Lena Town Hall, 6087 Goatsville Road, Lena.
Training sessions begin at 9 a.m. and are completed by 1 p.m., with the test conducted after. Division of Extension crops and soils educator Scott Reuss will moderate the in-person sessions.
Onsite registration is not allowed. Anyone without computer access can request a paper order and registration form from the Marinette, Langlade or Shawano County Extension offices, but it must be done at least two full weeks ahead of the program date.
Farms are also able to become certified by self-studying the training materials and then coordinating with one of the three offices to take the exam, or utilize the online testing option if they have the appropriate equipment.
For information, contact Reuss at 715-732-7510, 715-701-0966, or scott.reuss@wisc.edu, or visit the PAT website to communicate directly with program personnel.
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