United States Department of Agriculture 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

2011 

Federal Pesticide Recordkeeping Program Annual Summary
1 

Federal Pesticide Recordkeeping Program 

2011 Annual Summary 

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 

administers programs that facilitate the efficient, fair marketing of U.S. agricultural products, 

including food, fiber, and specialty crops. In accordance with the 1990 Farm Bill, all private 

pesticide applicators are required by law to keep record(s) of their use of federally restricted use 

pesticide (RUP) applications for a period of 2 years. The AMS, Science and Technology 

Program, Pesticide Records Staff administers the Federal Pesticide Recordkeeping Program 

(PRP) and enforces the regulations through compliance and educational outreach activities. This 

Program supports the AMS goal of monitoring specific agricultural industries and activities to 

ensure that they maintain practices established by regulations to protect buyers, sellers, and other 

stakeholders. 

PRP conserves resources by utilizing the services of State pesticide regulatory agencies to 

conduct record compliance inspections in States that are under the Federal pesticide 

recordkeeping regulations. In addition, the PRP recognizes State regulations that are comparable 

to the Federal regulations and allows applicators in those States to comply with the State 

pesticide regulations, thus eliminating the burden of maintaining duplicate RUP records. PRP 

also works with many States to educate private pesticide applicators about the requirements, 

provides resources to assist farmers in keeping the proper records, and develops programs to 

reach out to minority and small farmers. 

Inside This Summary 

History............................................................................................. 2 

Program Objective.............................................................................. 3 

Cooperative and Interagency Agreements................................................. 3 

Inspection Program With Federal Agencies................................................ 3 

Compliance and Compliance Assistance.................................................... 4 

Follow-Up Inspections.......................................................................... 5 

Educational Outreach.......................................................................... 5-6 

Workshops and Tradeshows.................................................................. 6-7 

Pesticide Recordkeeping Program Publications.......................................... 7 

2011 Federal Pesticide Recordkeeping Statistics....................................... 8 
2 

History

The 1990 Farm Bill

The 1990 Farm Bill, known officially as the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act 

(FACT) of 1990, Subtitle H, Section 1491, obligates the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, in 

consultation with the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to 

require certified applicators to maintain records regarding the use of federally restricted use 

pesticides. The USDA designated AMS to administer the PRP based on its experience in 

agricultural cooperative regulatory programs. 

The Regulations

The Federal pesticide recordkeeping regulations, 

"Recordkeeping Requirements for Certified Applicators of 

Federally Restricted Use Pesticides; Final Rule," were 

published on April 9, 1993. Certified private pesticide 

applicators were required to comply with the regulations, 

effective on May 10, 1993. The regulations were amended 

on February 10, 1995, and became effective on August 1, 

1995. The regulations were amended on May 7, 2010, to 

increase penalties under the Federal Civil Monetary Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990. 

Pesticide Recordkeeping Program

The PRP was established in 1992 to administer the Federal pesticide recordkeeping regulations. 

Located in Manassas, VA, the PRP is part of the AMS Science and Technology Program. AMS 

has chosen to emphasize educational and compliance assistance during the RUP record 

inspections of certified private pesticide applicators. The majority of the compliance inspections 

and educational outreach are accomplished through cooperative agreements with State pesticide 

regulatory agencies and the State cooperative extension services. 

Benefits of the Program 

The Program generates accurate and unbiased data on federally restricted use pesticides, which 

can be used by Federal and State agencies and other stakeholders in their decisionmaking. It 

encourages agricultural producers to keep accurate and complete pesticide records that can be 

used for production decisions. It also provides access to RUP record information for the purpose 

of providing medical treatment to people who may have been exposed to a RUP.

What’s Required on

an Application Record

1. Brand/Product Name 

2. EPA Registration Number 

3. Total Amount Applied 

4. Date of Application 

5. Location of Application 

6. Crop, Commodity, Stored 

Product, or Site 

7. Size of the Area Treated 

8. Name of Applicator 

9. Certification Number
3 

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE 

The objective of the PRP is to administer the recordkeeping provision mandated by the FACT of 

1990. The Program is conducted by State and USDA employees through cooperative and 

interagency agreements. The majority of the cooperative agreements are signed with State 

departments of agriculture that conduct face-to-face RUP record inspections in their States. 

Cooperative agreements are also established to create and provide educational materials, 

programs, and resources to assist farmers in recording their RUP applications completely and 

accurately. 

PRP oversees the inspections in the cooperating States and administers any resulting penalties 

under the Federal regulations. This Program inspects certified private pesticide applicators under 

the Federal regulations in 27 States by utilizing either State or Federal inspectors. The PRP 

recognizes the remaining 23 States and Puerto Rico as having comparable requirements to the 

Federal regulations and allows their applicators to comply by following their State’s published 

requirements. PRP coordinates inspections in many of the States with their own requirements 

and under the Federal regulations (Chart 1). This results in a national program that requires all 

certified private pesticide applicators to record their RUP applications. 

Cooperative and Interagency Agreements

In FY 2011, PRP reimbursed 32 cooperating States, 1 university and 2 Federal agencies (over 

$1.5 million or 60 percent of PRP operating funds) for conducting inspections of certified private 

pesticide applicator RUP records and educational outreach. State and Federal inspectors met 

with over 4,000 applicators in FY 2011. Most of the applicators chosen for inspection were 

randomly selected from pesticide dealer sales reports or were screened by inspectors to locate 

only those who had purchased and/or applied RUP in the past 2 years. Less than 10 percent of 

the applicators were selected randomly from the entire list of certified private pesticide 

applicators. PRP established cooperative agreements with States that operate under regulations 

recognized by the PRP, including Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, New 

Jersey, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. 

Inspection Program With Federal Agencies

Federal inspectors with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Grain 

Inspection, Packers and Stockyard Administration (GIPSA) inspected applicators in two States, 

Missouri and New York. Federal inspectors conducted a total of 275 inspections. Both Federal 

and State inspectors work with certified private pesticide applicators to help them bring RUP 

records into compliance on the first inspection through compliance assistance efforts. 
4 

Pesticide Recordkeeping Federal-State Cooperative 

Program 

Compliance and Compliance Assistance

The PRP issued 83 warning letters in 17 States during FY 2011. These 

warning letters were sent to private pesticide applicators who failed to comply 

by denying access, failing to maintain records, or having incomplete records. 

The 83 applicators who were not in compliance represent approximately 2 

percent of the 4,086 certified private applicators inspected under the Federal 

regulations in FY 2011. 

Compliance assistance is offered to all applicators who initially fail to record all of the required 

record elements, if they have the original application information available in written form. 

Inspectors are trained to provide this assistance as needed to help applicators come into 

compliance during inspections. Out of the 4,086 certified private pesticide applicators inspected, 

more than 400 were provided compliance assistance for 1 or more of the required record 

elements. The two major elements that continue to require the most assistance are the “amount 

of pesticide applied” and the “EPA registration number.” 
5 

Follow-Up Inspections

A total of 90 follow-up inspections were conducted in 19 States that are under the Federal 

regulations. Those follow-up inspections examine the records of applicators who were out of 

compliance the previous year. The majority of applicators visited during a follow-up inspection 

are found to have their RUP application records completed accurately.

Educational Outreach

Outreach to Tribal Nations: The Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) continued its 

program to work with county and tribal extension agents and other agriculture representatives to 

conduct private certified pesticide applicator training in the State of Montana. The training 

program included information on the Federal pesticide recordkeeping regulations and having 

cooperative extension agents provide educational materials to assist applicators with compliance 

of the regulations.

Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) Outreach to Commercial 

Applicators: LDAF continued its educational outreach to commercial pesticide dealers and 

applicators. In 2010, LDAF inspected 658 commercial applicators and 204 pesticide dealers. 

During these inspections, the LDAF staff reviewed the requirements for commercial applicators 

under the Federal pesticide recordkeeping regulations and provided them with educational 

brochures that provide detailed information about the requirements. 

New York State Cooperative Extension Offices Support: Additional pesticide recordkeeping 

outreach materials were provided to the New York Extension Service in counties selected for 

Federal inspection to help applicators in those counties understand and comply with the Federal 

regulations. The Cooperative Extension service offices in the counties where applicators were 

selected for inspection were also notified of the inspections so applicators had time to compile 

their records. 

Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) Provides Outreach to Applicators Statewide: 

ODA conducted educational and outreach activities statewide in association with routine 

pesticide licensing certification and re-certification of private applicators. The Federal pesticide 

recordkeeping requirements were incorporated into the overall functions of the ODA regulatory 

program, and presentations to private applicators were conducted to help distinguish the 

difference between the Federal requirements and State requirements. More than 35 presentations 

were provided to applicators attending grower meetings, industry meetings, and trade shows. 

Attendance to these meetings varied from 50 to 200 agricultural personnel and private 

applicators. 

Private Pesticide Applicator Assistance Project: The Nevada Department of Agriculture 

conducted several RUP training seminars around the State to assist applicators in complying with 

the Federal and State regulations. The training sessions focused on how applicators can renew 

their pesticide certification through the continuing education program and provided an extensive 

overview of the pesticide recordkeeping requirements. 
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PRP Large and Small Educational Displays: The PRP large display was used to provide 

outreach information to growers at trade shows and conventions. The smaller table-top display 

was loaned to cooperators attending local, regional, 

and State trade shows as a way of providing outreach 

materials on a local level. The Idaho State 

Department of Agriculture (ISDA) provides 

educational outreach and materials to applicators in 

Idaho by using the PRP table-top display at Western 

and Eastern Idaho State Fairs. The Nevada 

Department of Agriculture also utilized the table-top 

display at its training sessions in the State. 

Workshops and Trade Shows

Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition: PRP staffed a booth at the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition 

on October 19-21, 2010, in Moultrie, Georgia. A pesticide recordkeeping display was set up, 

while educational, program, and informational materials were provided to certified private 

pesticide applicators from the southeast region of the country. More than 150,000 growers, 

agriculture-related professionals, young farmers, and small and minority farmers attended the 

trade show. More than 1,000 recordkeeping manuals were distributed during the trade show. 

Cotton Beltwide Conference Annual Meeting and Trade Show: PRP staffed the AMS 

exhibit at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting and Trade Show on January 4-

6, 2011, in Atlanta, Georgia. More than 800 recordkeeping manuals and other outreach materials 

were provided to applicators in attendance at the trade show. 

Southern Sustainable Agriculture Conference Annual Meeting and Trade Show: PRP 

staffed the AMS exhibit at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting and Trade 

Show on January 20-22, 2011, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. More than 800 recordkeeping 

manuals and other outreach materials were provided to applicators in attendance at the show. 

American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting and Trade Show: PRP staffed the 

AMS exhibit at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting and Trade Show on 

January 9-11, 2011, in Atlanta, Georgia. More than 800 recordkeeping manuals and other 

outreach materials were provided to applicators in attendance at the trade show. 

Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO) Annual Meeting: The 

meeting was attended by PRP on March 14-16, 2011, in Crystal City, Virginia. The AAPCO 

represents State Pesticide Control Officials developing and implementing public programs 

related to the sale, application, transport, and disposal of pesticides. PRP States are members of 

AAPCO, and the meeting provided program staff with an opportunity to discuss current issues. 
7 

National Pesticide Certification and Training Workshop: PRP participated in the National 

Pesticide Certification and Training Workshop on August 8-11, 2011, in Portland, Oregon. The 

meeting is designed to discuss pesticide safety training and certification issues of common 

concern among USDA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), State, and tribal lead 

regulatory personnel as well as university and tribal pesticide safety educators. 

Cooperator’s Meeting: The Georgia Department of Agriculture hosted the Pesticide Records Staff

Cooperators Meeting in Savannah, Georgia, on July 19-22, 2011. More than 40 representatives 

from State agencies and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and Grain 

Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration attended. The meeting provides Federal and 

State cooperators with an opportunity to discuss program goals and accomplishments and to plan 

for the future. The meeting consisted of presentations on the electronic collection and 

transmission of inspection data, outreach to limited-resource farmers in Michigan, and 

agricultural pests in the Southwest. Other presentations included information on two of New 

Mexico’s important crops, Chile peppers and pecans, as well as covering the changes to the 

Federal regulations, educational outreach, and inspector training. A field trip was taken to the 

Albuquerque Biological Park to tour the Rio Grande Botanic Gardens and Albuquerque 

Aquarium. The fieldtrip started off with a 1-hour presentation regarding the pest control issues 

managed by the park pest specialists. 

Pesticide Recordkeeping Program Publications

Federal Pesticide Recordkeeping Manual: The recordkeeping manual 

continues to be one of the program’s best outreach tools for helping 

private applicators comply with the recordkeeping requirements. Over 

62,000 manuals were distributed in FY 2011. The outreach effort was 

achieved through State departments of agriculture contacts, State 

cooperative extension service offices, and agricultural commodity trade 

shows. 

Federal Pesticide Recordkeeping Brochure: The brochure was updated in FY 2010 to provide 

more information in an easier-to-read format. The brochure provides a small recordkeeping form 

on the back for private applicators that have very few applications. More than 5,800 copies were 

distributed in FY 2011. The program also maintains a Spanish language version of the brochure, 

which is available upon request. 

Federal Pesticide Recordkeeping Pocket Notebooks: The pocket-sized recordkeeping 

notebook has proven very popular with applicators. The program provided more than 900 

pocket-sized recordkeeping notebooks to certified private pesticide applicators. 
8 

2011 Federal Pesticide Recordkeeping Program Statistics

 4,086 inspections of certified private applicators were conducted under 

Federal and State regulations 

 90 follow-up inspections were completed 

 83 warning letters were written 

Educational Materials Distributed:

 More than 62,000 USDA pesticide recordkeeping manuals were distributed 

in FY 2011. This was a large increase from FY 2010, which was under 5,000 

because the printing request had been backlogged. Two printing requests 

were filled in FY 2011, and all of the requests from customers were filled. 

 Only 13 greenhouse and nursery recordkeeping manuals were distributed 

due to an unfilled printing request. 

 5,848 USDA pesticide recordkeeping brochures were sent out along with 

920 pocket-sized recordkeeping books. 

 Other outreach materials included 1,339 coasters, 575 fact sheets, 1,260 

mouse pads and 750 wallet cards. 

November 2012 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis 

of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental 

status, religion, sexual orientation, political beliefs, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a 

part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all 

programs.) 

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large 

print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a 

complaint of discrimination write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., 

Stop 9410, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call toll free at (866) 632-9991 (English) or (800) 877-8399 (TDD) or 

(866) 377-8642 (English Federal relay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal relay.) USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider and employer. 

Pesticide Records Staff 

U.S. Department of Agriculture 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

Science & Technology Program 

8609 Sudley Road, Suite 203 

Manassas, VA 20110

Phone: 703-330-7826 

Fax: 703-330-6110 

E-mail: amspesticide.records@ams.usda.gov 

Web: www.ams.usda.gov/pesticiderecords