The Vernon County UW-Extension Office will again be conducting training sessions for private pesticide applicators.

Participation in a training session and the successful completion of the test satisfies the requirements for certification or re-certification of private applicators.

Pesticide applicator training and certification allows farmers to use pesticides classified as restricted use.

The locations and dates of the training sessions are: Hillsboro at the Hillsboro Public Library on Wednesday, March 12 (maximum size for this session is 40);  Viroqua at the Erlandson Office Building  on Friday, March 14 (maximum size for these sessions is 40). All sessions will start promptly at 9:30 a.m. and conclude by 3:30 p.m.

Pre-registration is required for each session. To register for all sessions, applicators should stop in at least one week prior to the session at the UW-Extension Office located in the Erlandson Office Building, just north of Viroqua, at Nelson Agri-Center, Ag Consulting & Products, Viroqua, or at Premiere Cooperative, Westby.

Applicators may also register for the Viroqua sessions at the Chaseburg Farmers Union Cooperative, or Koon Kreek Feeds, Coon Valley, and for the Hillsboro session at the United Cooperative in Hillsboro.

The registration fee is $30 per private applicator, with the certification valid for five years.

For more information on the certification program, please contact the UW-Extension Office at 637-5276.