Pesticide Use Reporting

Our office keeps records of what pesticides are applied to agricultural crops in Ventura County. When growers apply pesticides they must report the application to us on a monthly basis. When commercial applicators apply pesticides for a grower they must report their use within seven days of the application. The Department of Pesticide Regulation provides funding for the data entry of these applications. The Agricultural Commissioner has data on pesticide applications made since the year 2000. Statistics on pesticide use have gotten steadily more reliable and more specific since the program began in 2000. Prior to 2000, reporting was only required for some applications and all of the records were in hard copy. Growers and Commercial Applicators can now report online which means that less data entry has to be done by the Commissioner’s staff. 

Pesticide use data is essential for investigating any allegation of pesticide misuse involving illnesses, crop damage or environmental hazards. It is also essential for assuring that workers in agricultural fields are not exposed to pesticides when they harvest, prune, weed or irrigate crops.