Suspended from Red Tractor

[DrWazzock]

A simple question
I have pa1 and 2.
I gained the qualification in 1990.
I have never ever sprayed a field since.

Does that make me a safe operator?

I would say you could still handle a 12m mounted sprayer on a simple tractor fairly proficiently.

I have kept my NROSO up to date and have operated a Bateman hi lo for about 25 years. I know it inside out and I can operate it safely if I keep my wits about me and don't do something stupid.

I wouldn't know where to start on my neighbour's super modern machine though. For that I would need product specific training to operate it safely. That isn't covered by NROSO. It would be impossible.

The person sat next to me on the NROSO course hadn't operated a sprayer for 12 years. The last time he operated one he caught it up in electricity wires and wrote it off, but he keeps his points up just in case he needs to use one again.

So really it comes down to circumstances, personal competence and responsibility to make sure you know your capabilities and your limits and no general training scheme covers any of that, though it does help. It does not make me a safe operator though.

 

[DrWazzock]

If your sprayer puts twice as much out of one side of the boom as the other, you'll finish the field having used the exact amount of spray that you thought you should. But your sprayer is completely useless. In the rest of industry it's accepted that things that need to be accurate need calibrating; torque wrenches, scales etc etc. Quite why some folk on here think that the accuracy of a sprayer, applying chemicals to food, in an open environment should be left to their "good" judgement cos' "they've been doing it for years" says a lot about the professionalism of SOME in the farming industry.

I am not going to argue too much because I partially agree with you. But if one side of your sprayer is putting out half as much and the other side twice (it will actually use 125% so you would notice it on the tank gauge) as much then that is something that a competent operator needs to be able to detect in the field rather than relying on a jug test every so often or sprayer test to pick it up. That kind of knowledge and expertise is partially based on general intelligence and also on experience. You won't instil that in a daft operator no matter how many NROSO points they have. A fault like that needs picking up almost as soon as it happens and can be picked up by watching the spray pattern on each boom section. It can also be prevented by making sure your valves and filters are properly maintained, something you need to watch everytime you take the sprayer out.

As my primary school teacher used to say, people aren't sponges into which you can pour knowledge or common sense.

Your whole approach raises very interesting questions about trust, monitoring, responsibility etc. Somebody could probably write a paper on it.

But in the meantime I ask the authorities generally to leave things as they are and go no further down the central monitoring and control route. It's gone far enough. We don't need any more of this stuff or we will no longer have time to produce anything, particularly in smaller businesses.

 

[Cowabunga]

A simple question
I have pa1 and 2.
I gained the qualification in 1990.
I have never ever sprayed a field since.

Does that make me a safe operator?

I've made my first and only use of those qualifications this week. I registered for on-line NHS at my doctor's surgery and used it as photo-identity verification.

 

[FarmyStu]

I've made my first and only use of those qualifications this week. I registered for on-line NHS at my doctor's surgery and used it as photo-identity verification.

Why pay for the qualification if you're never going to spray?

 

[Cowabunga]

Why pay for the qualification if you're never going to spray?

Who says I'm never going to spray? There's life in this old dog yet.

 

[Bongodog]

OH YES I have had him here. He was assessing an inspector who as a favour I had fitted in during the xmas week. It was a very difficult inspection dotting the i's and crossing the T's.I had a few minor non compliances which hopefully will be sorted out shortly(when I can get my emails through their firewall) What a game,his inspection for Fabbl and accs took 4 hrs, mine for just accs also took 4 hrs.What is red tractor doing sending an assessor down from Cambridge to West Somerset, when surely they could have found someone closer. The assessor herself lived in Cornwall. What a green organsation NSF are there must have been 10 hrs of travelling to do one assessment!!!!

I watched with amusement/frustration, no tarpaulin with which to cover the grain that has been outside for months for its 10 minute journey to the grainstore, what about leakage if the chemical store gets on fire etc. Its just a way of keeping jobsworths in employment and adds zero to food safety. Take the tarpaulin issue, how many grain trailers are ever seen with a cover in place ? Virtually none, but in order to tick the box, one is needed laying in a corner of the workshop. The chemical store, if it gets on fire a waterproof floor will not help much as the chemicals start to burn off emitting all sorts of nasty vapours.

 

[David.]

I take issue with his insistence on the requirement to sheet loads on farm, *unless* you are delivering your grain to the end user.
The unbunded chem store however, has never been compliant.

 

[Tarw Coch]

I take issue with his insistence on the requirement to sheet loads on farm, *unless* you are delivering your grain to the end user.
The unbunded chem store however, has never been compliant.

I didn’t catch the whole programme so didn’t see the chemical store, only the bit where they were discussing it in the house and as I understood it, it had been passed in previous years.

 

[colhonk]

Why are we expected to also let these inspectors use our house and electric for free? when we get nowt from them.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Why are we expected to also let these inspectors use our house and electric for free? when we get nowt from them.

Let them in the house? Mine has to sit in the shed with a table and chair...don’t even get a brew

 

[Danllan]

Well, we are no longer beholden to them. They keep sending letters though, and texts asking when is a good time to complete my assurance... I told them we'd not be renewing, perhaps they'll get the message eventually...

 

[Tarw Coch]

A quick question about RT and born mucky, what is the correct way to dispose of used disinfectant as the RT inspector pours it down the drain.

 

[FarmyStu]

A quick question about RT and born mucky, what is the correct way to dispose of used disinfectant as the RT inspector pours it down the drain.

Excellent question. Although it does beg the question of how do you dispose of yours?

 

[Tarw Coch]

Excellent question. Although it does beg the question of how do you dispose of yours?

Goes into the slurry system, same as the dairy chemicals from parlour and tank wash and formalin from the footbath
It looked like the drain in the yard on the TV program was just a water drain, quite possibly leading to a water course and I was wondering if that was an acceptable way of disposing of disinfectant, I don’t know the answer but thinking about it a bit more I’m sure it’s surprising what does get tipped down drains in domestic properties.

 

[Chae1]

Goes into the slurry system, same as the dairy chemicals from parlour and tank wash and formalin from the footbath
It looked like the drain in the yard on the TV program was just a water drain, quite possibly leading to a water course and I was wondering if that was an acceptable way of disposing of disinfectant, I don’t know the answer but thinking about it a bit more I’m sure it’s surprising what does get tipped down drains in domestic properties.

I think about this.

On a Sunday in suburbia everyone washing there cars. Chemicals going down drain.

Ever looked at ingredients on a shampoo bottle. Wonder what's in a dishwasher tablet.

Are these tested to be discharged direct into drains.

 

[Danllan]

Who says I'm never going to spray? There's life in this old dog yet.

And what about the old duck?

I think about this.

On a Sunday in suburbia everyone washing there cars. Chemicals going down drain.

Ever looked at ingredients on a shampoo bottle. Wonder what's in a dishwasher tablet.

Are these tested to be discharged direct into drains.

I don't know about all of the stuff that goes down drains, but all detergents, cleaners etc. have to meet certain 'environmental criteria'.

 

[Wombat]

I think about this.

On a Sunday in suburbia everyone washing there cars. Chemicals going down drain.

Ever looked at ingredients on a shampoo bottle. Wonder what's in a dishwasher tablet.

Are these tested to be discharged direct into drains.

As far as I know it’s illegal to wash your car on your drive/street in Germany for these reasons

 

[Sid]

As far as I know it’s illegal to wash your car on your drive/street in Germany for these reasons

That cant be true. All the brexiteers tell me we have all the rules of EU plus more? Is that one they missed?

 

[Tarw Coch]

And what about the old duck?


I don't know about all of the stuff that goes down drains, but all detergents, cleaners etc. have to meet certain 'environmental criteria'.

And what about the old duck?


I don't know about all of the stuff that goes down drains, but all detergents, cleaners etc. have to meet certain 'environmental criteria'.

IIRC new builds, certainly on estates have had clean water drains as well as drains connected to the sewage system and have had for some time.
Things like dishwashers and washing machine s would be connected to the sewers with roof water going down clean water drains.