Since you can't get in the field anyway...................

And it appears as though things are not going to change for the next couple of weeks either, now is as good of a time as any to be thinking about your private pesticide applicators license. If you are currently licensed in Eastern Montana, your license is due to expire on December 31 of 2011. In order to make sure that you are eligible to receive a new license after this one expires, you must have 6 continuing education credits.

If you are not sure how many credits you have, there is an easy way to check.

• Go to https://app.mt.gov/pest/index?_flowExecutionKey=_c503DAE2E-EE7F-4B6B-B0B9-5888FB43E7F4_k447DF3C9-4199-BC19-6C90-928E4F80B89E enter your pesticide license number and the next screen that pops up will be a screen with your name at the top and a listing of how many credits you have.

If you do not know what your license number is, you can go to http://services.agr.mt.gov/Pesticide_Applicators/, enter your name, and it will tell you what your number is.

If you have 6 credits or more, there is nothing that you need to do at this time. If you have not accumulated your 6 credits, there are a couple of options that you have.

1. If you are only 1 or 2 credits short, you have the option of getting credits online by passing a quiz or two. For complete details on how to do this, visit http://www.pesticides.montana.edu/PAT/OnlineCredits/index.html

2. If you need more than 2 credits visit
http://www.pesticides.montana.edu/PAT/2011/Region4.html for a list of programs
that are being offered in Eastern Montana where pesticide points will be given. You will
want to check this site and the Northeastern Montana Ag Crops blog site periodically
throughout the year for upcoming programs.

The last thing that I would say is don't panic. As the year progresses, there should be ample opportunities for those much sought after pesticide points.

Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP)

With the recent weather conditions and flooding risks that are predicted, livestock producers will want to make sure and keep accurate records of death losses, and, if there are losses due to extreme weather conditions (extreme cold, floods, and diseases caused by weather issues are just a few), make sure that the deaths are verified by a third party.

The reason for this is that the Farm Service Agency (FSA) office can provide a Livestock Indemnity payment for losses that occurred due to these events. Losses must be in excess of normal death loss rates and, as I mentioned above and cannot stress enough, must be verified by a third party not associated with the operation (a veterinarian, or someone from the FSA Office are your best bets).

To be eligible for a payment, losses must be reported to the FSA office within 30 days of the day the loss occurred and a request for payment must be made within 30 days of the end of the calendar year. I am sure that this post raises more questions than it provides answers so I would encourage you to contact your local FSA office for more details.