Some 5,400 sprayers will have to be tested every week to meet the 26 November deadline. According to Department of Agriculture, only 5% of all sprayers are tested and fit to spray. Despite the large volume of untested sprayers, farmers are being reminded not to use an untested sprayer.

After the 26 November deadline, only approved sprayers can be used while all sprayers can be used up to that point. Sprayers can indeed be tested after this date but they will not be legal to use for pesticide application after that date unless they have been certified.

The penalty for an untested sprayer is a fine but a farmer’s basic payment will not be affected. Cost does not seem to be the prohibitive factor with many testers certifying sprayers for €150 to €200 for a standard sprayer. The volume of new sprayers being sold is strong, so that gives these machines five years to be tested.

Sprayers with a boom width of greater than 3m need to be tested.

A list of approved and accredited testers can be found on the Department of Agriculture’s website.