PESTICIDE USAGE SURVEY REPORT 250 ARABLE CROPS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 2012 (INCLUDING AERIAL APPLICATIONS 2012) D.G. Garthwaite, S. Hudson, I. Barker, G. Parrish, L. Smith & S. Pietravalle Land Use & Sustainability Team Food & Environment Research Agency Sand Hutton York YO41 1LZ Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
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PESTICIDE USAGE SURVEY REPORT 250
ARABLE CROPS
IN THE
UNITED KINGDOM
2012
(INCLUDING AERIAL APPLICATIONS 2012)
D.G. Garthwaite, S. Hudson, I. Barker, G. Parrish, L. Smith & S. Pietravalle
Land Use & Sustainability Team Food & Environment Research Agency
Sand Hutton York
YO41 1LZ
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
ii
National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
They are free from any political interference. The UK Statistics Authority has a statutory duty to assess National
Statistics for compliance with this Code of Practice. Further information is available from the Office for National
Statistics website (http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/index.html). The statistics undergo regular quality assurance reviews to
ensure that they meet customers’ needs.
If you have any enquiries or feedback on the statistics included in this report they can be directed to the contact given
The data are used for a number of purposes including:
• Informing the pesticide risk assessment (approval) process;
• Policy, including assessing the economic and/or environmental implications of introduction of new active substances and the withdrawal/non-approval of pesticide products (the data reported to organisations such as the OECD and EU enabling the UK to honour international agreements); evaluating changes in growing methods and Integrated Pest Management where this has an impact on pesticide usage;
• Informing the targeting of monitoring programmes for residues in food and the environment;
• Contributing to assessing the impact of pesticide use, principally as part of the Pesticide Forum’s Annual Report;
• Responding to enquiries (for example, Parliamentary Questions, correspondence, queries under the Freedom of Information Act or Environmental Information Regulations, etc.);
• Providing information to assist research projects which can support all of the above activities;
• Training/teaching programmes which are designed to improve practice in the use of pesticides by the farming/training industries;
• Informing the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS) programme to help identify potential misuse of pesticides.
REVISIONS POLICY
The figures presented in this report are finalised. We will provide information on any revisions we make to the report
or the datasets if any inaccuracies or errors occur.
iii
CONTENTS Page Part 1 – Arable Crops in the United Kingdom 2012 Executive Summary 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report contains information on arable crops including wheat, barley (spring & winter), oats, rye, triticale, oilseed rape, linseed, ware & seed potatoes, dry harvest peas, field beans and sugar beet. Data on pesticide usage on these crops were collected from 24,600 examples (individual fields of arable crops) grown on 1,736 holdings throughout the United Kingdom. Minor crops encountered, but not included in this report included camelina, lupins and mixed corn. The harvest for 2012 was at the end of an exceptionally wet year with some applications unable to be made because of flooding. However, in some cases the wet weather would have increased pesticide applications, for example blight sprays on potatoes. The sample accounted for 6% of the total area of arable crops grown in the United Kingdom during the 2012 season (autumn 2011 through to harvest in 2012). The area of crops surveyed in each region was proportional to the area of arable crops grown in that region. The data on the area of pesticide treatments and the amount of active substances applied have been raised to give national usage estimates. Wheat comprised 46% of the area of all arable crops grown in 2012, oilseed rape (spring & water) 18%, spring barley 14%, winter barley 9%, ware potatoes, oats and sugar beet 3% each, beans 2%, linseed and peas 1% each and seed potatoes, triticale and rye less than one percent each. In terms of pesticide area treated, wheat accounted for 54% of the total, oilseed rape (spring & winter) 17%, spring barley 8%, winter barley 7%, ware potatoes 7%, sugar beet 3%, field oats 2%, beans and seed potatoes 1% and peas, linseed, triticale & rye less than 1%. By weight, applications to wheat constituted 54% of the total weight of active substances applied, oilseed rape 13%, ware potatoes 11%, winter barley 8%, spring barley 6%, sugar beet 3%, field beans 2%, oats and seed potatoes 1% and peas, linseed, triticale & rye less than 1% each.
Fungicides accounted for 40% of the total pesticide-treated area of arable farm crops grown in the United Kingdom in 2012, herbicides 29%, growth regulators 11%, seed treatments 9%, insecticides & nematicides 9%, molluscicides 2% and sulphur less than 1%. By weight, herbicides accounted for 44% of the pesticide active substances applied, fungicides 33%, growth regulators 18%, insecticides & nematicides 2%, seed treatments, molluscicides and sulphur 1% each. The most extensively-used fungicide formulations applied as sprays were prothioconazole/tebuconazole and chlorothalonil, with epoxiconazole and prothioconazole the most widely-used individual active substances. In terms of weight applied, chlorothalonil and cymoxanil/mancozeb were the two principal formulations used. The most extensively-used herbicide formulations were glyphosate and iodosulfuron-methyl-sodium/mesosulfuron-methyl. Glyphosate, prosulfocarb and flufenacet/pendimethalin were the herbicides used most extensively by weight applied. The pyrethroids were the most extensively-used insecticides (excluding nematicides), accounting for 91% of the insecticide-treated area, followed by the carbamates 3%, organophosphates 2% and other insecticides 4%. Two insecticides accounted for 61% of the total insecticide-treated area of all arable farm crops: cypermethrin 31% and lambda-cyhalothrin 30%. Two fungicide formulations, prochloraz/triticonazole and prothioconazole, were used on 11% and 10% of the seed treatment area. The fungicide/insecticide formulation, clothianidin/prothioconazole, comprised a further 10%. Neonicotinoid insecticides alone or in mixtures accounted for 26% of the seed treatment area. Chlormequat applied alone or in mixtures accounted for 59% of the area of arable crops treated with specific growth regulators. Metaldehyde (80%) and methiocarb (17%) were the two most commonly-used molluscicides recorded.
Data for Northern Ireland were not available for 2000 because of the foot & mouth outbreak. The area of all arable crops grown, excluding set-aside and Northern Ireland data for 2000, increased by 1% between 2000 and 2012, and by 4% since 2010. Since 2000 there has been an increase in the area treated of 24%, but a decrease in the weight of pesticides applied of 46%, largely driven by a significant reduction in use of sulphuric acid as a desiccant on potatoes. Since the previous survey in 2010 the area treated increased by 12% with the weight increasing by 7%. The report shows major declines in the use of chlorothalonil (24% by area treated, 27% by weight applied) and a reduction in the use of metaldehyde (7% in terms of area treated and 32% by weight applied) since the last survey in 2010. The new SDHI fungicides, bixafen and fluxapyroxad, only registered since the previous survey, accounted for almost 1.5 million treated hectares in 2012.
2
INTRODUCTION
The Advisory Committee on Pesticides advises government on all aspects of pesticide use. In order to discharge this function, the Committee must regularly monitor the usage of all pesticides. It needs accurate data on the usage of individual pesticides. Pesticide usage data are now also required under the EU Statistics Regulation (1185/2009/EC).
As part of the on-going process for obtaining data, the Pesticide Usage Survey Teams of the Food & Environment Research Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Science & Advice for Scottish Agriculture, a division of the Scottish Government’s Agriculture, Food and Rural Communities Directorate and the Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute, a Non-Departmental Public Body of DARD, conducted surveys of pesticide usage in arable crops in 2011/12 by visiting holdings throughout the United Kingdom during the winter of 2012/13.
Since 2010 all surveys of pesticide usage in agriculture and horticulture have been fully co-ordinated by the survey teams of England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The methodology used for sample selection and the collection of data from sample holdings is identical in each region. Reports are produced of pesticide usage throughout the United Kingdom. Whilst the teams in England and Northern Ireland have undertaken recent United Kingdom Statistics Authority (UKSA) audits the team in Scotland has yet to do this. However, the data published by the team in Scotland are part of the official statistics for Scotland.
This was the second survey of usage on arable crops in the whole of the United Kingdom and the eleventh survey of pesticide usage on arable farm crops carried out by the Great Britain Pesticide Usage Survey Teams. The previous report for the United Kingdom was published in 2011 covering pesticide usage on arable crops in 2010 (Garthwaite et. al., 2011).
Additional data on crop agronomy are collected for all surveys but may not be presented within the report. For additional data relating to the surveys please refer to the contacts below.
Information on all aspects of pesticide usage in the United Kingdom as a whole, or for Wales or the Defra regions of England, may be obtained from the Pesticide Usage Survey Team at the Food & Environment Research Agency, Sand Hutton, York, UK YO41 1LZ.
For further information please contact:
The survey team – e-mail: [email protected] Telephone: 01904 462 694
Or visit the website: http://www.fera.defra.gov.uk/plants/pesticideUsage/fullReports.cfm
Further data relating specifically to Scotland may be obtained from the Pesticide Usage Survey Team at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture, Edinburgh. Also available at:
Recently-published reports for the United Kingdom, Great Britain, England & Wales and Northern Ireland can also be viewed and downloaded on the Internet at:
Figure 5 - Changes in the weight of the major pesticide groups applied to arable crops in the United Kingdom - 2000 - 20121
2000
2008
2010
2012
1 – Data for Northern Ireland were not available for 2000
5
CROPS Information is given concerning thirteen types of arable crops, comprising wheat; spring & winter barley; oats; rye; triticale; oilseed rape; linseed, ware & seed potatoes; dry harvest peas; field beans; and sugar beet. Data on pesticide usage on these were collected from 24,600 examples (individual fields of arable crops or groups of fields treated identically) grown on 1,736 holdings throughout the United Kingdom. The sample accounted for 6% of the total area of arable crops grown in United Kingdom during the 2012 harvest season.
16%
23%
11%
4%2%
9%
8%
12%
2% 12%
1%
Figure 6 - Regional distribution of arable crops in the United Kingdom - 2012
East Midlands
Eastern
London & South East
North East
North West
South West
West Midlands
Yorkshire & the Humber
Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
46%
9%
14%
3%
<1%
<1%18%
1% 3%<1%
1% 2%
3%
Figure 6a - Relative areas of the different arable crops in the United Kingdom - 2012
Wheat
Winter barley
Spring barley
Oats
Rye
Triticale
Oilseed rape
Linseed
Ware potatoes
Seed potatoes
Peas
Beans
Sugar beet
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
EastMidlands
Eastern London &SouthEast
NorthEast
NorthWest
SouthWest
WestMidlands
Yorkshire& the
Humber
Wales Scotland NorthernIreland
Per
cent
age
of to
tal
Figure 6b - Comparison of regional distribution and treated area of arable crops in the United Kingdom - 2012
Area grown
Area treated
6
PESTICIDE USAGE
18%
27%
11%
3%2%
8%
8%
11%
1% 10%
1%
Figure 7 - Regional distribution of pesticide usage on arable crops in the United Kingdom - 2012 (area treated)
• Weight of active substances applied: 0.02 tonnes
• The four formulations encountered were:
Formulation area treated
(ha)
Weight of a.s. applied (kg)
Proportion of insecticide –treated area
Proportion of census area
treated
Average number of
applications (where applied)
Average proportion of full label rate
Esfenvalerate 1,681 7 0.61 0.12 1.00 1.00
Zeta-cypermethrin 624 6 0.23 0.04 1.00 0.65
Cypermethrin 435 10 0.16 0.03 1.00 0.92
Bifenthrin 33 0 0.01 0.00 1.00 0.74
Triticale – Seed Treatments
• Formulation area treated: 11,672 hectares
• Weight of active substances applied: 0.03 tonnes
• 62% of the seed remained untreated
• The two formulations encountered were:
Formulation area treated (ha)
Weight of a.s. applied (kg)
Proportion of seed treatment-treated area
Proportion of census area treated
(excluding unspecified treatments)
Prothioconazole 1,217 19 0.89 0.33
Clothianidin/prothioconazole 157 15 0.11 0.04
29
PESTICIDE USAGE ON OILSEEDS Oilseed rape
• 755,717 hectares of oilseed rape grown in the United Kingdom (98% of which is winter sown)
• 8,750,923 treated hectares
• 1,965.06 tonnes applied
• 0.6% of oilseed rape remained untreated
• Oilseed rape received on average 3 fungicides, 3 herbicides, 2 insecticides and 1 molluscicide (metaldehyde accounted for 90% of all molluscicide usage)
• The main winter varieties encountered, included DK Cabernet, Excalibur, Expower and Sesame; spring varieties Erucola, Tamirin, Ability, Belinda and Makro
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Insecticides &nematicides
Fungicides Herbicides Molluscicides &repellents
Sulphur Seed treatments
Per
cent
age
of to
tal
Figure 33 - Usage of pesticides on oilseed rape (spring & winter) - 2012
Area
Weight
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug
Per
cent
age
of a
pplic
atio
ns
Figure 34 - Timing of pesticide applications on winter oilseed rape: September 2011- August 2012
Fungicides
Herbicides
Insecticides
30
Oilseed rape – Fungicides
• Formulation area treated: 3,159,648 hectares
• Weight of active substances applied: 491.30 tonnes
• 131,825 hectares of ware potatoes were grown in the United Kingdom
• 3,313,445 treated hectares
• 1,719.00 tonnes applied
• 0.7% of ware potatoes remained untreated
• Ware potatoes received on average 11 fungicides, 3 herbicides, 1 molluscicide and 1 insecticide (Metaldehyde accounted for 50% of the molluscicide total and methiocarb 45%)
• The main varieties encountered, included Estima, Maris Piper, Marfona, Lady Rosetta, Maris Peer and Markies
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Insecticides &nematicides
Fungicides Herbicides Growthregulators
Molluscicides &repellents
Sulphur Seed treatments
Per
cent
age
of to
tal
Figure 41 - Usage of pesticides on ware potatoes - 2012
Area
Weight
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Per
cent
age
of a
pplic
atio
ns
Figure 42 - Timing of pesticide applications on ware potatoes: January - December 2012
Fungicides
Herbicides
Insecticides
Growth regulators
38
Ware Potatoes – Fungicides
• Formulation area treated: 2,115,541 hectares
• Weight of active substances applied: 1,118.73 tonnes
• The five most used formulations encountered were:
• Weight of active substances applied: 122.81 tonnes
• The five most common formulations were:
Formulation area treated
(ha)
Weight of a.s. applied (kg)
Proportion of insecticide –treated area
Proportion of census area
treated
Average number of
applications (where applied)
Average proportion of full label rate
Lambda-cyhalothrin 50,421 351 0.25 0.21 1.80 0.93
Thiacloprid 45,154 4,106 0.22 0.23 1.46 0.95
Pymetrozine 27,120 4,068 0.13 0.13 1.56 1.00
Esfenvalerate 22,894 113 0.11 0.06 2.78 0.99
Oxamyl 17,718 74,602 0.09 0.13 1.02 1.71
Please note that oxamyl is primarily used as a nematicide for potato cyst nematode control although it has activity against other soil pests. The apparent high rate is an anomaly due to the variability of rates according to row spacing. None of the rates encountered in the survey exceeded the maximum recommended for this product.
83%
13%
4%
Figure 45 - Ware potatoes - Reasons for use of insecticides (where given)
aphids
other pests
nematodes
Ware potatoes – Seed Treatments
• Formulation area treated: 129,000 hectares
• Weight of active substances applied: 21.26 tonnes
• 8% of the seed remained untreated
• The five formulations encountered were:
Formulation area treated (ha)
Weight of a.s. applied (kg)
Proportion of seed treatment-treated area
Proportion of census area treated
(excluding unspecified treatments)
Pencycuron 27,471 14,871 0.39 0.38
Imazalil 23,583 596 0.34 0.32
Flutolanil 9,157 2,008 0.13 0.13
Imazalil/pencycuron 4,911 3,131 0.07 0.07
Imazalil/thiabendazole 4,878 649 0.07 0.07
41
Seed Potatoes
• 16,946 hectares of seed potatoes were grown in the United Kingdom
• 409,996 treated hectares
• 129.78 tonnes applied
• 1.7% of seed potatoes remained untreated
• Seed potatoes received on average 9 fungicides, 3 insecticides and 3 herbicides
• The main varieties encountered, included Hermes, Estima, Markies, Saturna and Fontane
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Insecticides &nematicides
Fungicides Herbicides Molluscicides &repellents
Seed treatments
Per
cent
age
of to
tal
Figure 46 - Usage of pesticides on seed potatoes - 2012
Area
Weight
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Per
cent
age
of a
pplic
atio
ns
Figure 47 - Timing of pesticide applications on seed potatoes: January - December 2012
Fungicides
Herbicides
Insecticides
42
Seed Potatoes – Fungicides
• Formulation area treated: 222,470 hectares
• Weight of active substances applied: 82.77 tonnes
Figure 63 - Sugar beet - Reasons for use of herbicides (where given)
broad-leaved weeds
general weed control
meadow grass
other weeds
56
Sugar Beet – Insecticides & nematicides
• Formulation area treated: 20,737 hectares
• Weight of active substances applied: 4.05 tonnes
• The five most common formulations were:
Formulation area treated
(ha)
Weight of a.s. applied (kg)
Proportion of insecticide –treated area
Proportion of census area
treated
Average number of
applications (where applied)
Average proportion of full label rate
Dimethoate 6,713 981 0.32 0.06 1.00 0.37
Lambda-cyhalothrin 4,984 36 0.24 0.04 1.00 0.96
Oxamyl 3,720 2,368 0.18 0.03 1.00 0.71
Pirimicarb 1,917 272 0.09 0.02 1.00 1.01
Chlorpyrifos 541 389 0.03 0.00 1.00 1.00
Please note that oxamyl is an insecticide/nematicide primarily used to control free-living or beet cyst nematodes. However, it does control a range of soil living pests including millipedes, pygmy beetle & leaf miner.
58%28%
14%
Figure 64 - Sugar beet - Reasons for use of insecticides (where given)
aphids
mangold fly
pigmy mangold beetle
Sugar beet – Seed Treatments (data kindly provided by Germains Seed Technology on behalf of British Sugar)
• Formulation area treated: 440,810 hectares
• Weight of active substances applied: 10.46 tonnes
1 Includes spring and winter sown crops 2The sugar beet area figures in this table were provided by Defra Statistics. The figure for the total area grown provided by British Sugar was 119,222 ha. However, with the exception of the seed treatment figures on pages 56, 67 & 74 (provided by Germains Seed Technology on behalf of British Sugar), all other data presented in this report relate to the regional areas provided by Defra Statistics in order to ensure consistency with all other crops.
58
Table 2 Treated areas of arable crops in the United Kingdom 2012 by crop group (spray hectares)
1 Throughout all tables, “Other” refers to chemicals grouped together because they were applied to less than 0.1% of the total area treated with pesticides 2 Other fungicides include amisulbrom, azoxystrobin/chlorothalonil/cyprodinil, azoxystrobin/fenpropimorph, boscalid/pyraclostrobin, chlorothalonil/flusilazole, chlorothalonil/flutriafol, chlorothalonil/mancozeb, chlorothalonil/metalaxyl-M, chlorothalonil/propamocarb hydrochloride, chlorothalonil/propiconazole, chlorothalonil/pyrimethanil, copper oxychloride, copper sulphate, cyazofamid/polyalkyleneoxide modified heptamethyltrisiloxane/cymoxanil, cymoxanil/fluazinam, cymoxanil/propamocarb hydrochloride, cyproconazole/cyprodinil, cyproconazole/picoxystrobin, cyproconazole/propiconazole, dimethomorph/mancozeb, epoxiconazole/fenpropimorph/pyraclostrobin, epoxiconazole/kresoxim-methyl, fenamidone/propamocarb hydrochloride, fenpropidin/prochloraz/tebuconazole, fenpropimorph/kresoxim-methyl, fenpropimorph/quinoxyfen, fluazinam/metalaxyl-M, fluquinconazole, flutriafol, iprodione, iprodione/thiophanate-methyl, mancozeb/metalaxyl-M, mancozeb/zoxamide, pencycuron, prochloraz/propiconazole, prochloraz/proquinazid/tebuconazole, propiconazole, quinoxyfen, spiroxamine, spiroxamine/tebuconazole, tebuconazole/triadimenol, thiophanate-methyl and unspecified fungicides.
63
Table 5 (cont.) Usage of pesticides on arable crops grown in the United Kingdom, 2012 (spray hectares)
Table 12 – Comparison of pesticide usage in the United Kingdom between 20002 and 2012 20002
2008 2010 2012
Area
treated (ha) Weight
applied (t) Area
treated (ha) Weight
applied (t) Area
treated (ha) Weight
applied (t) Area
treated (ha) Weight
applied (t)
Insecticides
Carbamates 251,534 25
155,512 124
170,685 72
125,037 89
Organochlorines 3,482 3
. .
. .
. .
Organophosphates 252,000 94
239,941 136
149,039 84
102,853 78
Pyrethroids 3,088,801 56
4,001,042 65
3,355,962 52
4,349,631 68
Other insecticides 63,914 7
126,294 13
0 9,727
223,439 18
Total - all insecticides1 3,659,731 185
4,522,789 338
3,807,619 222
4,800,960 252
Biological control agents . .
1,569 .
. .
. .
Sulphuric acid 74,938 11,976
7,469 1,033
. .
. .
Fungicides 14,428,727 4,072
19,173,509 5,209
17,701,996 4,565
20,252,722 5,061
Sulphur 101,630 354
69,288 141
39,971 107
33,732 119
Growth regulators 3,944,784 3,134
5,172,226 3,252
4,293,759 2,631
5,517,515 2,804
Herbicides & desiccants 13,513,475 8,123
15,291,682 8,236
14,077,040 6,252
14,940,062 6,619
Molluscicides & repellents 1,267,729 387
1,687,659 486
926,140 174
877,965 126
Nematicides 34,517 254
13,468 33
15,203 36
6,232 14
Seed treatments 4,234,967 345
4,772,733 199
4,531,578 223
4,744,969 192
Total - all registered pesticides 41,178,451 28,289 50,712,483 18,927 45,393,307 14,210 51,174,157 15,187
Area grown 4,256,279
4,298,900
4,160,983
4,310,390
1Includes oxamyl and ethoprophos which have both insecticidal and nematicidal properties
2Data for Northern Ireland were not available for 2000
79
APPENDIX 2 – DEFINITIONS a) 'Pesticide' is used throughout this report to include commercial formulations containing active substances used as acaricides, biological control agents, defoliants, desiccants, fungicides, growth regulators, herbicides, insecticides, molluscicides, nematicides or urea. b) 'Treated area' is the gross area treated with a pesticide, including all repeat applications, some of which may have been applied to the land in preparation for planting, or applied to the margins of the crop and thus may appear as an inappropriate use on that crop. c) Where quoted in the text or within figures, reasons for application are the grower's stated reasons for use of that particular pesticide on that crop and may not always seem entirely appropriate. d) Where individual active substances are mentioned in the text, they are listed in descending order of use by hectares treated.
e) Throughout all tables, “Other” refers to chemicals grouped together because they were applied to less than 0.1% of the total area treated with pesticides.
g) Throughout all tables, “.” indicates that there was no recorded usage.
h) The term “formulation(s)” used within the text is used here to describe either single active substances or mixtures of active substances contained within an individual product. It does not refer to any of the solvents, pH modifiers or adjuvants also contained within a product that contribute to its efficacy.
i) For the purposes of this survey arable crops include the following: wheat; winter barley; spring barley; oats; rye; triticale; oilseed rape; linseed; flax; ware potatoes; seed potatoes; peas for harvesting dry; field beans, sugar beet and other combinable crops including borage, hemp, lupins and poppies.
j) Pesticide applications included those applied prior to planting, or in some cases to crops that failed and were subsequently re-planted, and as these are associated with that crop they may appear as inappropriate uses.
k) Within the seed treatment tables at the end of each crop section, unspecified or unknown seed treatments have been excluded from the last column in order to express the known seed treatment areas as a proportion of the total area of each crop grown. The increased area of unspecified seed treatments within this report has resulted from the extraction of data directly from farm management software reports where seed treatment information has not been included.
80
APPENDIX 3 – METHODOLOGY
METHODS
The samples of holdings to be surveyed were selected using data from the Agricultural Census Returns, June 2011 for England & Wales (Anon., 2012a, 2012b), for Scotland (Anon., 2012c) and Northern Ireland (Anon, 2012d).
The samples were drawn from the census returns so as to represent the area of all arable crops grown throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For England the sample was selected within each of the eight Government Office Regions (GOR’s), the Welsh Assembly Government provided a further sample, which represented the area grown in Wales, and for Scotland the country was divided into 11 land-use regions (Wood, 1931).
For the purposes of this survey the total area of arable farm crops was taken as the sum of the areas of the following crops: wheat; winter barley; spring barley; oats; rye; triticale; oilseed rape; linseed; ware potatoes; seed potatoes; peas for harvesting dry; field beans; and sugar beet. A number of minor combinable crops were encountered in the survey, including lupins, mixed corn and camelina. These minor crops accounted for one percent of the total arable area grown in the United Kingdom.
The samples were stratified according to the total area of all arable crops grown in each region and by farm size group based on the total area of arable crops on each farm. The area of arable crops sampled in each size group and each region was proportional to the total area of arable crops grown on holdings of each size group in each region. All three survey teams followed the same methodology for data collection and used the same forms and instructions for their completion. The size groups, based on the total arable area are as follows: <50ha;>50-<=100 ha;>100-<=150 ha;>150-<=250 ha;>250-<=500 ha and >500 ha.
For the first time in 2012, data for the majority of holdings in England & Wales were obtained electronically from a commercial research company, GfK Kynetec, who have a long history, over 20 years, of managing arable farm pesticide usage surveys. As part of the current agreement with GfK Kynetec and as part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that FERA has with CRD, they provide data to FERA on pesticide usage for the arable survey. The GfK Kynetec survey has a large (over 1,100 farms in England & Wales) existing panel of farmers who provide data on their arable pesticide usage annually, by not only completing farm record books, but also by speaking to an interviewer twice during the season. A final phone call at the end of the season ensures that any additional data are collected.
The main benefit to this approach is that the burden on the farming community is reduced and 600 farms that would have been contacted as part of the previous FERA pesticide usage survey programme now no longer have to be contacted. It also contributes to the requirements of the UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice for Official Statistics in that it enables a proportionate burden to be placed on those providing the data.
FERA subject all data, including data obtained from GfK Kynetec, Scotland & Northern Ireland, to the same detailed and rigorous checks as they have to those collected previously by the England & Wales survey team.
In order to ensure that the sample was fully representative sub samples of small arable holdings (<20 hectares) and potato holdings were also contacted.
In total data were collected from 1,736 holdings throughout the United Kingdom in 2012; in 2010 1,187 farms provided data.
One of the requirements placed on growers by their customers is the membership of farm assurance schemes. These schemes require detailed pesticide records (computer based or hand written) which ensure traceability and can be examined by crop assurance auditors at any time, but normally at least once each year. These records are used extensively by those collecting pesticide data. Of the 1,532 holdings visited in Great Britain (no data were available from Northern Ireland) and where information was available (1,190 holdings), 95% were members of one or more crop assurance schemes, including 19 of the holdings (2%) being registered organic on all or part of their farm. However, in terms of area grown, farms with a crop assurance scheme accounted for 99% of the total area surveyed.
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The Questionnaire
For some of the farms in England & Wales and all of the farms in Scotland & Northern Ireland the questionnaire for the main part of the survey consisted of two forms, which were completed during an interview with the grower.
Form 1 summarised the areas of arable crops grown on the designated holding during the 2011/2012 season (autumn 2011 through to harvest in 2012).
Form 2 dealt with all aspects of pesticide usage on the individual crops grown on the holding and harvested in 2012, a separate form being used for each field/crop combination. These included pesticides applied prior to planting, or in some cases to crops that failed and were subsequently re-planted, as these are associated with that crop they may appear as inappropriate uses. Certain agronomic details that may have influenced pesticide usage (including drilling methods, sowing & harvest times, use of adjuvants and the volume of spray applied) were also recorded on form 2.
The data supplied by GfK Kynetec were derived from the farm spray books provided to their participating farmers and these books meet exactly the same requirements and contain the same level of detail as the forms used by each of the survey teams in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Raising factors
The pesticide usage data collected from each holding were raised by a ratio of two factors to give an estimate of regional usage using a standard ratio raising statistical technique; the first factor being dependent on farm size group and region (see Appendix 5) and the second dependent on crop area and region. The data were further adjusted by a third factor to compensate for regions in which specific crops were not sampled and to make estimates of total pesticide usage related to the national cropping areas in the United Kingdom (Thomas, 2000).
The raising factors were based on the areas of arable crops grown and harvested in 2012 as recorded in the June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture for England & Wales (Anon., 2013a, b), Scotland (Anon., 2013c) and Northern Ireland (Anon., 2013d).
Rounding
Due to rounding of figures, the sum of constituent items in the tables may not agree exactly with the totals shown.
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Error checking
Extensive checks are made on the data before, at the time of and following data entry. Data checking routines are used to verify the authenticity of the data collected including: the approval status of all crop/pesticide combinations; high and low rates of application; the methods of application used to apply pesticides; crop growth stages at the time of application; the timing of pesticide applications and consistency within a tank mix.
Further checks are made on the integrity of the relational database used to store the raw data collected ensuring that links to product databases are in place prior to the production of the report. The product databases used for the pesticide usage surveys are maintained alongside the commercial product database, LIAISON, which is used extensively by agronomists and the major farm management software companies.
Where inconsistencies are found, for example where there are high rates of application or non-approved product usage, these are checked first against the farm records and secondly with the grower and amended if necessary.
Reports are written and checked within the team after which they are sent to reviewers within the Working Party on Pesticide Usage Surveys for their comments and checking.
The final report is pre-announced and published via the ONS Publication Hub and the FERA website in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
Data limitations and use of data
Our experience has shown that the proposed face to face interview and ‘main contact plus reserves approach’ delivers the highest quality data and minimises non response bias; no other approach is likely to yield fit for purpose data to meet the quality requirements of the UKSA Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Drawing a fresh stratified random sample each year is clearly an appropriate survey methodology. The population of horticultural growers sampled for the PUS is much smaller than the number of arable holdings in England, so that, especially in the strata of larger enterprises, the same growers come around fairly often so this sample is already closer to a panel than a sample from a larger population might be. As part of this survey FERA has implemented the UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice for Official Statistics, published in 2009. Whilst all eight principles apply, we acknowledge in particular, the following: • Integrity – in particular that, statistical reports must be issued separately from other statements or comments about the
figures, that the public interest prevails. • Confidentiality – the identity of individuals or their information is not revealed, information is kept secure and
respondents are informed how their confidentiality will be protected. • Proportionate burden - seeking participation through informed consent. • Accessibility – to all users, providing information on the quality and reliability of the statistics, adopting formats that
enhance clarity and consistency, disseminate in formats that encourage analysis and re-use. In accordance with UKSA Code of Practice for Official Statistics, we work with Defra statisticians and CRD to build on our existing extensive and effective relationships with users of the surveys to further enhance user engagement. There are a broad spectrum of users and stakeholders across policy, research, agricultural supply industry (including consultancies), farming and horticultural businesses, NGOs and members of the public. Over the years we have an excellent record of listening to our users and incorporating their feedback into the way we collect and report our statistics. We continue to work in partnership with both CRD and Defra to strengthen this engagement in line with recent recommendations from UKSA.
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APPENDIX 4 – ESTIMATES OF STANDARD ERRORS FROM PESTICIDE USAGE DATA (2012)
Stéphane Pietravalle, Statistician, FERA Introduction, Data and Method The results presented in this report come from the Pesticide Usage Survey (PUS) data for arable crops in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in 2012. The total areas of arable crops and total numbers of holdings with arable crops by region were obtained from the June 2012 Survey. In the PUS survey, data were collected from 1,735 holdings in the UK. However, note that, in this report, it was decided to exclude 21 PUS holdings as data were only provided for potatoes to supplement the existing potato data. The numbers of holdings sampled as part of the PUS and presented in this analysis and the total numbers in the June Survey are shown by region and crop in table A.1 below. The way the national estimates and their standard errors are derived in this report is through “ratio raising”. This approach has already been used in previous reports (e.g. “Soft fruit 2012” and “Orchard 2012”) and looks at, for each holding sampled as part of the PUS, the ratio of its pesticide treated area (resp. weight of active ingredients) per unit area of arable crops in that holding. This “ratio” is then tabulated for each region category (each stratum) separately (separate ratio analysis, i.e. the area treated with pesticide (resp. the weight of active ingredients used) per unit area of arable crops is allowed to vary between strata). It is then “raised” to each stratum, using the total area grown from the June Survey, to estimate the total area treated with pesticide (resp. weight of active ingredients) in each of those strata. The standard error of each of these estimates is then calculated using the standard error observed, for each stratum in the PUS and the fraction of the total number of holdings in that stratum in the June Survey that were sampled in the PUS. In other words, the standard error of the total area treated (resp. total amount applied) represents the uncertainty associated to this total and is a function of the variability of the observed data (sample to sample variability in the PUS data), the number of samples collected in the PUS data and the total number of holdings in the June Survey data. The calculation can be done in one of two ways: Using approximations (Taylor series expansion) to calculate the standard error of a combination of variables. Using bootstrapping of the “ratios” observed in the holdings sampled in the PUS, where each holding in a given stratum is replicated n times, where n is the nearest integer to the raising factor for that stratum. In this report, all the standard errors (and corresponding 95% confidence intervals) presented have been estimated using the bootstrapping method (Note: 1,000 bootstrap runs were used for each estimate). Unlike some of the previous surveys (e.g. “Orchards 2012”), many fields were sampled for arable crops. As a result, it was possible to use some of the holding size categories within regions as strata to “raise” the “ratios” (two groups of categories were used within each region when looking at all arable crops: “A-B-C” and “D-E-F”). Tables A.2 and A.3 clearly state the strata used in each case. When it was possible to use such accurate groups, it was therefore assumed that the “ratio” (i.e. the pesticide treated area (resp. weight of active ingredients) per unit area of arable crops present) was constant across all holding sizes within a category size within a region, but was allowed to differed between regions and/or between the two size category groups within region. However, when looking at individual crops, there were fewer fields sampled as part of the PUS with some crops and it was therefore necessary to group the size categories (hence assuming a constant “ratio” across all size categories). It was sometimes also necessary to group adjacent regions, therefore assuming a constant “ratio” between those regions. The regions grouped were as follows: “Wales” and “West Midlands” were always combined for wheat, spring barley, winter barley and oilseed rape “Eastern” and “London & South East” were combined for potatoes “North East”, “North West” and “Yorkshire & the Humber” were combined for potatoes “South West”, “Wales” and “West Midlands” were combined for potatoes “East Midlands” and “West Midlands” were combined for oilseed rape
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For sugar beet, the PUS only contains data for four regions (“East Midlands”, “Eastern”, “West Midlands” and “Yorkshire & the Humber”). As a result, it was decided to only use these four regions to estimate the total pesticide usage at the UK level. This was despite four more regions (“London & South East”, “North East”, “North West” and “South West”) being recorded (in the June Survey) as having sugar beet grown. The alternative approach would have been to group those regions with adjacent regions sampled in the PUS. However, it was not clear what obvious grouping could be made. Further, the four regions without any PUS data only represented a small proportion of the total number of holdings with sugar beet (3.3%) and a very small proportion of the growing area (0.3%). It was therefore decided that the pesticide usage in “East Midlands”, “Eastern”, “West Midlands” and “Yorkshire & the Humber” was a good approximation of the UK pesticide usage. All analyses were done using GenStat 15.1. Results and conclusions
Tables A.2 and A.3 below show, for arable crops overall and for individual arable crops, the calculated relative standard errors (RSE) of the estimates (in percentage). As for previous surveys, because the confidence intervals are derived from the percentiles of the bootstrapped distribution, they are not necessarily symmetrical around the estimated total area and total amount of active ingredient. Table A.2 shows those estimates for the treated areas and table A.3 presents them for the weight of active ingredients for orchards. When looking at arable crops overall as well as the main individual crops (wheat, spring barley, winter barley and oilseed rape), tables A.2 and A.3 clearly show that the relative standard error of the estimates are well below the target of 5%. Overall and for those crops, they are in the region of 1 to 2.5%. However, for the other two crops (potatoes and sugar beet), they are higher (5.0% and 4.1% respectively when looking at area treated and 5.5% and 6.3% respectively when looking at amount of active ingredient applied). As in all previous reports, the relative standard errors are larger when looking at amount of active ingredient applied than when looking at area treated. Finally, note that, although these results are not presented in this report, the relative standard errors for individual regions and crops were sometimes much larger than those for the UK estimate (e.g. 32.1% for area of OSR treated in “Northern Ireland”). Table A.1: Summary of the number of holdings sampled in the United Kingdom as part of the Pesticide Usage Survey (PUS) growing each arable crop
Region All arable
crops Wheat
Spring barley
Winter barley
Oilseed rape
Potatoes Sugar beet
East Midlands 166 163 43 56 128 16 39
Eastern 246 227 73 97 174 24 95
London & South East
174 162 57 54 111 2 0
North East 49 46 20 38 36 2 0
North West 53 30 33 25 10 10 0
Northern Ireland 204 79 160 69 13 47 0
Scotland 317 180 285 124 112 49 0
South West 134 112 79 66 61 5 0
Wales 36 14 22 13 8 3 0
West Midlands 125 120 28 56 71 12 1
Yorkshire & the Humber
210 199 78 152 149 19 12
Overall 1,714 1,332 878 750 873 189 147
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Table A.2: Relative standard error and 95% confidence interval for the area treated (ha) with pesticide
Crop Total RSE (%) Bootstrap 95% confidence
interval for the total
All arable crops 46,504,525a 0.9 [45,565,995 ; 47,384,300]
Wheat 28,237,265bc 1.1 [27,603,681 ; 28,812,664]
Spring barley 3,770,032bc 1.4 [3,662,803 ; 3,867,945]
The overall figures shown in tables A2 & A3 (RSE %) clearly show that the relative standard errors for the survey data
(area treated and weight applied at the national level) derived from the June Survey estimates of holding numbers and the
sampled number of holdings in each region and size group are low and therefore give the reader confidence in the
methodologies used for data collection.
a Size categories were split into two for all regions: “”A-B-C” and “D-E-F”. All regions were treated separately. b All size categories were combined. c “Wales” and “West Midlands” are combined. d “Eastern” and “London & South East” are combined. e “North East”, “ North West” and “Yorkshire & the Humber” are combined. f “South West”, “ Wales” and “West Midlands” are combined. g “East Midlands” and “West Midlands” are combined. h This UK estimate is estimate as that of “East Midlands”, “ Eastern”, “ West Midlands” and “Yorkshire & the Humber”.
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APPENDIX 5 – FIRST RAISING FACTORS FOR ARABLE CROPS (2012)
Region/Country Farm size group rf1 Regional area (ha) Area surveyed (ha) Number of farms visited
East Midlands A 97.29 56,363 579 20
B 34.13 90,391 2,648 35 C 20.48 86,556 4,226 35 D 19.55 147,235 7,530 39 E 16.83 175,267 10,413 31 F 15.78 155,201 9,835 12
Eastern A 67.66 66,776 987 33 B 33.60 126,619 3,768 51 C 32.66 133,336 4,083 34 D 17.67 207,415 11,740 61 E 16.88 263,512 15,610 47 F 10.10 195,856 19,383 29
London & South East A 58.54 41,698 712 23 B 35.26 60,568 1,718 25 C 15.26 58,285 3,819 32 D 12.81 106,378 8,305 43 E 9.22 127,515 13,825 41 F 8.39 85,997 10,244 11
North East A 61.89 16,549 267 9 B 28.19 29,528 1,047 14
C 17.31 29,497 1,704 13 D 20.08 29,725 1,480 9 E 18.20 31,344 1,722 * North West A 55.22 40,723 737 36 B 28.06 25,273 901 13 C 29.65 10,783 364 * D 21.18 9,637 455 * E 32.98 9,190 279 * Northern Ireland A 9.86 26,422 2,680 132 B 2.46 8,799 3,577 52 C 1.72 2,521 1,462 12 D 1.86 2,175 1,167 6 E 2.72 1,847 679 * Scotland A 60.40 107,301 1,777 69 B 22.05 119,282 5,410 74 C 12.73 96,666 7,593 61
D 7.68 110,691 14,408 76 E 7.68 70,843 9,228 30 F 5.68 23,684 4,171 7
South West A 96.72 88,746 918 39 B 31.31 72,152 2,305 31 C 25.36 56,692 2,236 18 D 14.86 72,982 4,912 25 E 11.29 70,431 6,236 19 F 41.72 46,303 1,110 *
Wales A 43.27 25,868 598 27 B 48.44 11,397 235 * C 16.44 7,884 480 * D 57.79 8,755 152 * E 16.46 6,163 374 *
West Midlands A 54.20 58,613 1,081 36 B 32.64 74,216 2,274 31 C 18.98 55,313 2,914 24 D 16.57 68,591 4,140 22 E 14.53 53,224 3,663 12 F 17.31 29,021 1,677 *
Yorkshire & the Humber A 62.92 54,717 870 33 B 29.35 92,087 3,138 43 C 15.00 82,484 5,500 45 D 10.81 110,880 10,255 54
E 12.73 108,580 8,530 28 F 10.87 61,329 5,640 8
For confidentiality reasons a * has been used where 5 or less holdings have been sampled.
The first raising factor (rf1) is the largest of the three raising factors and gives an indication of the robustness of the sample with smaller numbers indicating a larger area sampled within each size group and region.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks are due to all of the growers who willingly participated in this survey, providing invaluable information upon which this report is based. Many thanks are also due to Jackie Hughes, Stephen Jess, Michael Lavery, Trudyann Kelly, David Matthews, Gillian Reay, Louis Thomas, Jennifer Watson, David Williams and Alan Withers for their role in the collection and provision of data; Yvonne Powell-Wainwright and Josephine Roberts for their role in maintaining the pesticides database; and Jennie Blackburn and John Bleasdale for their help with the cropping areas of arable crops in England & Wales respectively. Thanks also go to the members of the ACP Working Party on Pesticide Usage Surveys, in particular Sarah Cook, Peter Gladders and Mike Lole, for their invaluable comments.
Many thanks to Veronique Heyes from Germains Seed Technology for her help in providing detailed data on the use of sugar beet seed treatments.
REFERENCES Anon. (2012a) Agricultural Statistics in England 2011. London: HMSO Anon. (2012b) Agricultural Statistics in Wales 2011. London: HMSO Anon. (2012c) Agricultural Statistics in Scotland 2011. Edinburgh: HMSO Anon. (2012d) Agricultural Statistics, Northern Ireland 2011. Belfast: HMSO Anon. (2013a) Agricultural Statistics in England 2012. London: HMSO Anon. (2013b) Agricultural Statistics in Wales 2012. London: HMSO Anon. (2013c) Agricultural Statistics in Scotland 2012. Edinburgh: HMSO Anon. (2013d) Agricultural Statistics, Northern Ireland 2012. Belfast: HMSO
Garthwaite, D.G., Barker, I., Parrish, G., Smith, L., Chippindale, C. & Pietravalle, S. (2011) Pesticide Usage Survey
Report 235 - Arable Farm Crops in the United Kingdom, 2010. London: Defra
Thomas, M.R. (2001) Pesticide usage monitoring in the United Kingdom. Annals of Occupational Hygiene, 45
(supplement 1): S87-S93.
Wood, H.J. (1931) An Agricultural Atlas of Scotland. London: George Gill & Sons
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PART 2 - AERIAL APPLICATIONS 2012
In the UK, agricultural aviation operators must comply with “The aerial application certificate” issued by the Civil Aviation Authority which requires comprehensive standards for all safety aspects of aerial application operations including avoidance of spray drift, marking of fields, reconnaissance, pre-flight briefing and mapping of areas requiring treatment to indicate obstructions. The Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 (as amended) (COPR), implemented under the Food and Environmental Protection Act (FEPA) 1985, increased the level of legal requirements that must be complied with before, during and after a spray treatment from the air. The Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012 introduced new controls on the application of pesticides from aircraft. In addition to the Aerial Application Certificate operators are required to hold an aerial spraying permit issued by HSE’s Chemicals Regulation Directorate. The permit is issued only when a number of conditions are fulfilled, including that: there are no viable alternatives to an aerial application, or the aerial application will impact less on human health and/or the environment than land-based applications; information is provided on the provisional date and timing of application; spraying does not take place in close proximity to residential areas; and where spraying takes place in or close to protected areas that nature conservation authorities are consulted.
Aerial operators have supplied usage data to Defra on an annual basis for over 25 years. Up until 2002, these data have been published by Defra in a series of annual pesticide usage survey reports, the more recent of which can be found on the survey team’s website. The area treated has declined dramatically from a peak in 1983 of over 475,000 ha. In recent years, since 2000, aerial applications have been restricted to the control of bracken to limit its encroachment primarily to upland grazing land. Consequently, the principal pesticide applied from the air up until 2006 was asulam. However, in 2007 almost 2,000 hectares of potatoes were sprayed with benalaxyl/mancozeb, to control blight, in addition to 7,000 hectares of bracken. Since 2008 the only usage recorded has been asulam to control bracken. In 2008 5,990 hectares were treated, 10,303 hectares in 2009, 11,222 hectares in 2010, 14,614 hectares in 2011 and 13,003 hectares in 2012.
Regional distribution of use is presented in Table A1, timing of applications in Figure A1.
Table A1 Distribution of treated bracken (Asulam applications) in the United Kingdom - hectares flown
Year
Eastern South East
South West
Midlands & Western
Northern Wales Scotland Northern Ireland
Total
2012 542 40 177 626 2,195 572 8,851 0 13,003
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
July August September
Are
a tr
eate
d (h
a)
Figure A1 - Timing of aerial applications to control bracken - 2012
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COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUS SURVEYS
Prior to the late 1990’s usage on arable crops, particularly potatoes, dominated aerial applications. However, since the
late 1990’s usage for anything other than bracken control has been minimal in comparison. Whilst usage in 2012 was
more than double that applied in 2008, it was only 8% of the area treated in 1988, and 32% of the area treated in 1990.