Groups call for tighter checks on farm pesticides

Danish Nature Conservation Association, Danske Vandværker, and Danva propose increased pesticide control to improve the self-monitoring system currently used by farmers. They suggest more thorough checks, including cross-referencing spray journals with purchases and stock. Currently, professional pesticide users must maintain a spray journal, but there’s no formal way it must be kept, which can be on paper, electronically, or otherwise. Maria Reumert Gjerding of the Danish Nature Conservation Association references Ministry of Environment data indicating 40% of pesticide controls had violations last year. The organizations are concerned about illegal pesticides affecting drinking water and propose increasing random checks. Landbrugsstyrelsen conducts risk-based and random checks on farms, and the groups believe that more intensive spot checks would help reveal illegal substances and prevent violations.