If unusual circumstances during the growing season call for pesticide recommendations that are not included in the pest management component of the conservation plan, should the plan be updated?
• Maybe. Infrequent use of a pesticide that was not in the original plan is acceptable. The Pest Management Standard states that “Environmental risk analysis with approved tools and/or procedures should be done for probable pest management recommendations by crop (if applicable) and pest.” If a pesticide use was unforeseen, it could not have been included in the plan. However, if a new pesticide use is expected to become commonplace (probable), the pest management component of the conservation plan should be revised to include it and any appropriate mitigation should be added to the plan. If there is no reasonable way to determine probable pest management recommendations, then mitigation should be planned for the highest potential hazard(s) for that crop.
