On January 20th at the IFCA Convention, the IL Department of Agriculture announced the launching of Driftwatch.org, a website that seeks to enhance communication between specialty growers and pesticide applicators as a tool to help about drift conflicts between modern grain production and operations such as vineyards, nurseries, certified organic farms, vegetable production and apiaries.  IDA and IFCA prepared a press release explaining the purpose of the program, and the release can be viewed at the IFCA homepage (www.ifca.com). 

Specialty growers can use the site to register the GIS coordinates of their operation.  Pesticide applicators can also register to receive emails regarding the presence of these operations in their application territory.  IDA worked to implement the site following a resolution by the Illinois legislature to develop the site in Illinois.  IFCA supports Driftwatch because it works to enhance communication and awareness of the presence of certified organic farms, vineyards and sensitive crops and puts our members in touch with these site owners so that both parties can work together to avoid drift mishaps or miscommunication about pesticide applications.  The site is free and we encourage you to register as a pesticide applicator to receive updates on sensitive crops in your territory.  Go to the IDA website located at www.agr.state.il.us then click on the driftwatch logo on the right-hand side.  If you have questions contact Jean Payne.