Jake Whealen at the California Department of Food and Agriculture

For my EPM practicum, I am very excited to be working with the California Department of Food and Agriculture in the Office of Pesticide Consultation and Analysis. Fellow EPM student, David Brodeur, and I are conducting a feasibility study on a statewide program that would utilize vegetative buffers along agricultural fields to help mitigate pesticide drift. Drifting pesticides can travel with wind or water past their intended targets where they may harm individuals at nearby sensitive sites (such as schools, hospitals, daycares, and more). However, vegetative buffers help to block and intercept drifting pesticides before they reach unintended sites and environments. David and I are using geospatial and economic tools to evaluate the feasibility of a vegetative buffer pesticide drift mitigation program in several representative California counties. We are hopeful that our findings will have broader implications for California as a whole, and possibly lead to future programs that incentivize the use of vegetative buffers among landowners to help mitigate pesticide drift.