by Albert Makendenge
The Importance Of Reading Chemical Labels Before Application
Even though reading agricultural chemical product labels can take up quite some time to understand a lot of the technical information, it is very important to ensure safe handling and usage of the chemical amongst many other benefits explained below.
Obviously safety should always be the top concern. When a farmer knows what it is inside and outside the container (active ingredients, the inert ingredients, key pests and diseases controlled, contents, signal words such as danger, warning and caution), they can then safely use products and with some practice one can learn how to look at a chemical label and quickly identify the active ingredients and their concentrations, what pests the manage and for what crops and what precautions are recommended when using the product.
Apart from safety issues, learning to understand pesticide labels can also be a big step towards making more economical (cost minimizing) decisions on the farm. Once you know how to compare active ingredients and concentrations, you have more freedom and flexibility to choose from a wider range of products and brands. Reading labels more effectively is a great way to start making more informed decisions and educated choices when purchasing crop and animal protection products.
Last but not least, reading and following instructions is a requirement of law since it is important for the health and safety of everyone who and everything that comes into contact with the operation. That way farmers can be consistent in complying with environmental laws and regulations.