Commercial release of agricultural chemicals in the environment must be done in ways that protect our natural resources and preserve the delicate ecological balance for future generations.

Every agricultural product has unique chemical and biological characteristics that affect longevity in the field. This environmental persistence determines many important usage variables, such as potential geographic markets, cropping groups, formulation types, harvest intervals, crop irrigation allowances, and the total active ingredient registered. It is well known that long lived compounds are more difficult to work with and register through governmental agencies. Mitigation measures, such as reduced rates, extended pre-harvest intervals, limits on the number of applications, or the use of buffer zones in ecologically sensitive areas, are often used to protect the environment.

Pacific Ag can assist with studies that determine the specific environmental half-lives of active ingredients. Our staff of trained field biologists and technicians work in the field to supply laboratory samples for soil and aquatic dissipation studies, crop and rotational crop residue (RAC) trials, and air monitoring (flux) studies. The equipment inventory includes a tractor mounted soil sampling unit for sampling of cores up to 10 m in depth, a GLP unit for RAC studies including current software for electronic notebook documentation, and ample GLP maintained cold storage. Our staff includes scientists with published work on pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables. We give our clients a level of expertise unavailable outside of a few major universities or key agrichemical manufacturer’s laboratories.