Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon’s second exhaustive report on pesticide use shows that farms and other sectors used nearly 20 million pounds of the chemicals last year. But as Rob Manning reports, the 2008 snapshot is the last of its kind for a while.

It’s hard to compare the 2008 pesticide data to anything else. Data problems plagued the first report in 2007. And thanks to legislative budget cuts, there will not be another report until 2013 at the earliest.

Aimee Code with the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides says the state Agriculture Department didn’t prioritize the program.

Aimee Code: “Oregon’s pesticide use reporting program was one of the first programs to be cut by the Department of Agriculture, recommended for cuts.”

Agriculture officials say the report was not vital to their mission. Half of the reporting system’s $800,000 cost came from pesticide user fees.

Those dollars will now fund two investigator positions.

Farmers are still required to keep records on hand for the pesticides they’re using.