New Mexico Farm *A* Syst

New Mexico Farm*A*Syst - Farmstead Assessment System, is a voluntary groundwater protection program for New Mexico farms, ranches, and rural homeowners.

Why Should You Be Concerned?

Groundwater is a valuable natural resource that benefits everyone. About 95 percent of the drinking water in the U.S. comes from groundwater. Maintaining a clean drinking water supply will reduce health risks to family and neighbors, as well a provide good quality nourishment for livestock and plants. Its safe use and protection is an inherent responsibility of each and every one of us. The goal of Farm*A*Syst is to help you protect the groundwater that supplies your drinking water.

Farm*A*Syst is:

Easy to Use:

Fact sheets/worksheets that allow you to determine risks to groundwater on your own property.

Confidential:

The results of your assessment are confidential. You choose whether to share the information with advisors or regulatory agencies.

Cost Effective:

Helps to avoid costly consultant, legal, and clean-up fees.

Currently Available Online Resources

There are currently 24 PDF documents covering the entire Farm*A*Syst assessment materials. Including interactive worksheets for Chapter 2 - Improving Pesticide Storage and Handling and Chapter 13 - Pesticide Use and Integrated Pest Management now approved for:

New Mexico Private Pesticide Applicator Continuing Education Units (CEU's)

Pesticide Applicators can receive 1 CEU for Farm*A*Syst Chapter 2 and 2 CEU's for Farm*A*Syst Chapter 13 by completing an on-line or hardcopy version of these chapter worksheets. Proof of completion must be given to the local County Extension Agriculture Agent along with your name, NMDA license number(s), social security number, company name and mailing address. The Agent will complete an NMDA form for accreditation of the CEU's . IMPORTANT: Farm*A*Syst Risk Assessment is confidential. DO NOT send the completed worksheets to NMDA when requesting CEU's.

These publications are available as PDF files. These files have the benefit of printing out to look almost exactly like the original publication.

Here is a list of the online PDF files:

Pesticide Use and Integrated Pest Management (Online Version)

Currently available on this New Mexico Farm*A*Syst website is Chapter 13, Pesticide Use and Integrated Pest Management. The worksheet for this chapter is in an interactive form designed to assist crop producers in determining the amount of groundwater protection and risk from production practices.

Instructions

First read the Fact sheet (also available as a PDF file). This will provide you with the information needed to complete the assessment of your operation. Next, move to the interactive worksheet and rank your specific practices. Choose the ranking that MOST CLOSELY fits your operation. Skip over sections that do not apply to your farm. At the end of the worksheet, you will be given a total score (4 Best - 1 Low), along with a list of practices which are considered high risk. By comparing your practices to the low risk activities, you can start to develop a Plan of Action to improve specific management practices. For assistance with developing a Plan of Action, refer back to Chapter 13 Fact sheet, or contact your local county Extension Office.

Pages on this site: