By JEFF BURBRINK
Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County

Private applicators that hold a license for either pesticide or fertilizer use have an opportunity to attend two classes in Elkhart County, which will give one credit each towards the renewal of their Private Applicator Recertification Program license.

From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, we will offer a program on Personal Protective Equipment and Drift Watch. The meeting will be in Ag Hall, on the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds in Goshen. The cost for PARP is $10.

From 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 19, a second PARP meeting will be held. The subjects covered in this program will be Palmer Amaranth Identification and Drift Watch. This program will be held in Ag Hall on the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds and the cost will be $10 for PARP.

Private Applicators are required to attend three PARP training courses over the five-year span of their license. Only two credits can be given in any one year. This is important because you cannot wait until the last minute to attend three classes.

For example, if someone has a license that expires in 2015, and has not yet attended any PARP programs, that person must attend at least one PARP class in 2014, or their license will expire at the end of 2015. Similarly, if you have a license that expires at the end of 2014, and have not taken classes from 2010 to 2013, your license will be expiring at the end of this year.

To check the status of your license, you can visit the Purdue Pesticide Program’s website at ag.purdue.edu/extension/ppp/

Under the Private applicators tab, you can find the dates of PARP programs being held all over the state of Indiana.

If you need to obtain a private applicators license, the dates and instructions to sign up are available at that website. There are three options to take the private applicators exam.

The first is to take the test at one of the regional test meetings this winter. The closest to us will be held in Kendallville on March 16. The State Chemist Office also offers the exam monthly on the Purdue campus.

The third option is to take the exam at remote testing sites via computer. The nearest site to Elkhart County is the H & R Block in Mishawaka. For more information about taking the exam for private applicators, contact the Purdue Pesticide Office at (765) 494-4566.