To help further ensure the implementation of rodenticide stewardship across the industry, new requirements come into force on 1 January 2018 for farmers and growers wanting to purchase professional rodenticides. To do so from the new year, they will need to show that either they are part of a compliant assurance scheme, or that they have completed an approved training course.
Eleven assurance schemes with combined memberships of 95,000 farm businesses will be compliant with the UK Rodenticide Stewardship Regime for 2018. They are:
- AIC's Trade Assurance Scheme for Combinable Crops
- British Egg Industry Council's Lion code
- Duck Assurance Scheme
- Farm Assured Welsh Livestock
- Laid in Britain
- Northern Ireland Beef & Lamb Farm Quality Assurance
- Northern Ireland Farm Quality Assured Cereals
- Quality British Turkey
- Quality Meat Scotland
- Red Tractor Farm Assurance
- Scottish Quality Crops
Farmers presenting their assurance scheme membership document at sales outlets as proof of competence will continue to be able to purchase stewardship-label professional rodenticides from 1 January onwards. The audit standards of all 11 assurance schemes have been verified for compliance with stewardship conditions and the CRRU UK Code of Best Practice, which broadly require a systematic approach to rodent pest control, with documentation and regular independent audit procedures.
Sellers of professional use rodenticides to pest controllers, farmers and gamekeepers will also be required by 31 December to have registered for a stewardship point-of-sale audits.
Farmers outside the approved assurance schemes have three rodenticide use options:
- Take an approved training course (you can find more details here) and show the certificate when purchasing rodenticide.
- Employ a certified professional pest controller.
- Use rodenticide products authorised for amateur use.
The aim of the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRUU) UK is for this combination of farm assurance and point-of-sale control to help ensure the entire supply chain is correctly implementing stewardship measures. CRUU chairman Dr Alan Buckle says: "This will make a significant contribution to enabling continued access by competent users to professional use rodenticides for the future."
Useful links:
UK Rodenticide Stewardship Regime
CRRU UK Code of Best Practice
Approved training and certification