On 26 November 2015 it will no longer be legal to spray professional products under what are called “grandfather rights” without a recognised certificate of competence.

It will also be an offence to purchase the same products if the intended end user does not have a certificate.

See also: One year left until crop sprayer rule changes

In simple terms this means if you don’t hold the appropriate PA certificates, or a new grandfather certificate, you can no longer legally apply professional agricultural pesticides on your crops.

For experienced farmers or contractors who have operated under this exemption for many years, this is probably a frustrating step, but the directive cannot be ignored.

For anyone born before 31 December 1964, the choices are quite straightforward; either get qualifications or stand aside and employ a contractor to do the work.

There are two possible certification options:

1. “Grandfather” certificate

If you are only spraying on your own land (whether it is rented or owned) you can apply for the Safe Use of Pesticides Replacing Grandfather Rights certificate, which is designed to take into account the years of spraying experience you have accumulated.

This requires operators to take a practical test with one-to-one verbal questioning focusing on safe handling and application, and the type of machinery used. Training and assessment costs will vary depending on location, operator ability and the modules covered. A range of training and support is available from the NPCT website

2. “PA” qualifications

These are the well-established Safe Use of Pesticide (PA) certificates, appropriate to the type of equipment you use, allowing you to spray on your own land or as a contractor. With 15 units to choose from, PA1 is the mandatory foundation unit covering the legislation, with others based on different application methods. The PA1 is tested online, and other application units are practical tests with verbal one-to-one questioning. See the NPTC website for full information.

Use a contractor

The easiest route, if there is no-one else in the business who is PA qualified, is to employ qualified contractors to take on spraying operations, side-stepping the need to go through certification and ongoing professional development. This obviously takes the pressure off the business and transfers some of the extra responsibility of applying pesticides application to a third party. It also eliminates the cost of keeping sprayers tested and maintained.

A close relationship with your spraying contractor, backed up by a Basis-qualified adviser, is important to ensure the right products are applied at the right time.

Here are some other issues should be considered:

• Check your contractor has all the necessary qualifications and NRoSO membership
• Check sprayers are NSTS-tested (you will need proof for farm assurance and under the Sustainable Use Directive – with the exception of knapsack and hand-held sprayers, all pesticides application equipment in use must have been tested once by 26 November 2016, unless it is less than five years old. See: the NSTS website)
• Check that the contractor is insured for spraying (a mistake on a high-value crop could be catastrophic).
• Membership of the National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) is an excellent way of ensuring contractors are appropriately insured, with access to ongoing training and updates.
• Agree who is responsible for supplying the chemical and keep good communication links between yourself, the agronomist and contractor.
• Designate who is disposing of all empty packaging and where washing and filling will take place.
• Ensure the contractor is given full information about your land, including footpaths, watercourse and environmental risk areas and what to do to protect them.
• Warn your contractor of safety issues, for example overhead power lines, hidden obstacles or dangerous terrain.
• Spray records need to be supplied by the contractor.