Oooeee, I love it when we report on timely news and don’t even know it. We had a story in Sunday’s Business & Money section about Jerry Webb, an aerial applicator AKA crop duster based in Tupelo.
And we got the following press release from the USDA this week:
Governor Haley Barbour and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have authorized the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) and Commissioner Lester Spell to assume the responsibility of regulating aerial applicators effective July 1, 2008.
MDAC will administer the regulation and licensing of aerial applicators through the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), a regulatory and service agency of MDAC that protects the agricultural and horticultural interest of the State of Mississippi. BPI will register, license and administer compliance programs for the agricultural aviation industry to ensure public safety and help maintain the important role agricultural aviation plays in Mississippi.
Currently, BPI regulates all pest control operators, private and commercial ground applicators and the aerial application of hormone-type herbicides. The Mississippi Agricultural Aviation Board, which was responsible for regulating aerial applicators, expired on June 30, 2008.
For further information, contact BPI at (662) 325-3390 or toll free at 1-888-257-1285.
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