BARTLETT — Chemigation training, like the one held in Bartlett this weekend, is helping farmers prepare for the season.
The class is required every four years for anyone who pumps fertilizers or pesticides through a pivot. It comes from Nebraska’s Chemigation Act in 1976 as part of an effort to ensure clean groudwater.
“The main reason for the tests is just to re-enforce the big, strong points of how to keep of groundwater clean and safe and the environment safe,” says Instructor Amy Timmerman.
For farmers, it’s pretty simple. They get a letter in January stating their certification is up and needs to be renewed. At the end of the class, they have to take a test to pass the training.
Also, it’s difficult to skirt the system. Besides having the license, everyone who pumps fertilizer or pesticides through a pivot needs to have a permit from their Local NRD.
