There seems to be a flurry of changes to federal regulations.  Some are now in place and others are still in a comment period.  Please check to determine if they will affect your operations.

EPA Worker Protection Standards

More training!  And other changes to the EPA’s Worker Protection Standards.  It has now been published in the Federal Register, which starts the countdown to required implementation. Very handy comparison of the existing and new WPS.

EPA Pesticide Applicator Certification Rules – Comment period extended until Dec 23, 2015 (leaving you time to wrap packages afterwards).

To help New York State pesticide applicators and educators better understand these proposed changes, the Pesticide Management Education Program (PMEP) at Cornell University has developed several resources outlining what’s being proposed, how they could impact New York State pesticide applicators and educators, and how to submit effective comments to the EPA. Even though the materials are focused on New York State, they can be used by anyone interested in learning more about the proposed regulation changes. The resources are posted in the newsroom of our website at the top of the page.

(and if you produce food crops in addition to trees)
FDA Food Safety Modernization Act – Produce Safety Rule

Check the exemptions to see if it applies to you.  The document is pretty dense so if I find a helpful guide, I’ll send it along.

Good luck and let me know if you have questions!  I will find someone to answer them as best I can!