- Home
- Departments
- Agricultural Commissioner
- Programs and Services
Programs & Services
Registration
To register your bees annually with the Colusa County Agriculture Department, go to BeeWhere.
Bee Checks
Before making a pesticide application with a pesticide that is toxic to bees, commercial applicators should perform a Bee Check within 48 hours of application. A pesticide applicator can then notify the beekeeper that an application is planned. The beekeeper can move or cover the hives to prevent damage, or the timing of the application can be adjusted to accommodate the presence of the bees.
Visit BeeWhere.com to create a "Bee Check". If you already have a CalAgPermits username and password associated with your Permit, Operator ID, or PCM/PCB License, log in using your CalAgPermits web user login.
U.C. Davis IPM bee precaution pesticide ratings can be used to determine if the pesticide you are using is harmful to bees or their brood.
Bee Precaution Pesticide Ratings
Colony Strength Inspection
At the request of beekeepers or growers, our department inspects colonies for strength and health to ensure effective pollination. For more information, contact at our office at (530) 458-0580.
Until 1977, regulations required farmers to properly pack, size, and label their fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables in standard containers to transport and sell in markets anywhere other than the farm site. In 1977, Certified farmers’ markets, by Department regulations, exempted farmers from those requirements.
Interested in operating a Certified Farmers' Market in Colusa County? For more information, go to: Certified Farmers Market Program. To submit an application to operate a market, visit Direct Marketing Program. Market Certificates at $30, due upon pick up.
Certified Producer's Certificate (CPC)
In order to sell at a Certified Farmers' Market in any county, you must obtain a Certified Producer's Certificate in the county where you grow. To apply for a Certified Producer's Certificate, go to: Direct Marketing Program. Producer Certificates are $20, due upon pick up. Our office will contact you when your certificate is issued.
Colusa Certified Farmer's Market
Veterans Memorial Park- 217 9th St, Colusa, CA 95932
Manager: Jennifer Diaz (530) 458-5525
Thursdays: 4:00-7:00 pm June thru September
For more information on Fruit, Vegetable, and Egg Quality Control go to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Eqq Quality Control website.
The mission of the Nursery Program element is to prevent the introduction and spread of agricultural pests through nursery stock and protect agriculture and the consumer against economic losses resulting from the sale of inferior, defective, or pest-infested nursery stock. The Nursery Program fulfills two separate roles. The first is to coordinate the nursery regulatory and inspection activities performed by the county agricultural commissioners. The second is to provide the agricultural industry with registration and certification services for plant material.
All production, wholesale, or retail nurseries and landscape contractors offering nursery stock for sale in Colusa County must be licensed through the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Production nurseries are inspected by our department every year to make sure the plants they sell meet basic standards of cleanliness and best nursery management practices are followed. Retail nurseries are not inspected annually, but are held to the same standards.
For more information go to the California Department of Food and Agriculture website Nursery Services webpage.
California's Organic Program is responsible for enforcement of the Federal Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, and the California Organic Products Act of 2003. These statutes protect consumers, producers, handlers, processors, and retailers by establishment of standards under which fresh agricultural products/foods may be labeled and/or sold as "organic".
Every person engaged in the state of California in the production or handling of raw agricultural products sold as organic, and retailers that are engaged in the production of products sold as organic, and retailers that are engaged in the processing, as defined by the National Organic Program, of products sold as organic; SHALL register with the State Organic Program. If the expected organic gross sales exceed $5,000, certification by an outside certifying agent is also required.
Permits
All permits expire December 31st of the current year. You must renew your permit before performing any spray application in Colusa County. Provide your valid Private Applicator Card or QAL/QAC card when you renew your permit. We encourage scheduling an appointment for renewals and/or to update your PAC. If you need to take the exam to update your Private Applicator Card, please notify us before your appointment date.
If you plan on having a PCA or someone else renew your Restricted Materials permit, you must have the Authorized Representative Designation document filled out and presented prior to the permit renewal.
Pesticide Use Reports
Production agriculture pesticide use reports are required to be submitted by the 10th day of the month following the month in which the work was performed. If a pesticide application is performed by a pest control business, the pesticide use report is required to be submitted within 7 days of completion of the application. The pest control business is required to submit a copy of the pesticide use report to the operator of the property.
Pesticide use reports (PUR) and Notice of Intents (NOI) are encouraged to be submitted online through CalAgPermits. Please contact our office at (530) 458-0580 or ccag@countyofcolusaca.gov to create a CalAgPermits account. Mailed pesticide use reports are required to be postmarked by the due date. Reporting forms can be found in Forms & Documents.
Private Applicator Certificates
Visit California Department of Pesticide of Regulation, for more information about licensing (QAL, QAC, PCA, PCM, etc).
Private Applicator Certification (PAC) allows a grower to purchase and apply restricted materials on property they own or lease. The Private Applicator Certificate exam is administered by our office. Please call to schedule an appointment. There is no fee for a PAC. The PAC certificate expires on a rotational basis. PACs can be renewed through continuing education, ONLY if you have recently taken the NEW PAC exam. If you have not taken the new PAC exam, your current PAC will expire and you will be required to take the exam.
Private Applicator Certificate study guide: The Safe and Effective Use of Pesticides, 3rd Edition. You may purchase a copy online, your local Cooperative Extension office, or rent one through our office.
As of January 1, 2024, the additional BVF (Burrowing Vertebrate Pest Fumigation) certification is required of any private applicator who intends to use, or supervise the use of, any fumigant classified as a restricted material and labeled for the control of burrowing vertebrate pests in California on property owned, leased, or rented by him/her or his/her employer for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity. You must have the BVF certification if you intend on having Aluminum Phosphide or Magnesium Phosphide listed on your Restricted Materials Permit & prior to purchasing and using these products.
For study material, visit Burrowing Vertebrate Pest Fumigation.
Commodity Fumigation
Post Harvest Commodity Fumigation
In previous years, post harvest commodity fumigations were allowed by using a valid PAC. Starting January 1, 2024, these fumigations are not allowed, unless you acquire a QAL or QAC with Category M. You may not perform any fumigations in rice bins, almonds under tarps in the field, etc. without a QAL or QAC and the correct category certification. For more information on Category M, visit, QAL Category M Information. To apply for a QAL or QAC, please visit, DPR Licensing.
If you do not obtain the new license and/or the category certification, and you still intend to fumigate post harvest commodities on your property, you may hire a Pest Control Business that has valid certification to perform the fumigations. Contact our office at (530) 458-0580, in order to stay in compliance with the new regulations.
Paraquat Training Requirements
Paraquat Applicators & Handlers
Any person who intends to use paraquat must be a certified applicator (PAC, QAL, or QAC) and is required to take the paraquat training. “Use” includes pre-application activities involving mixing and loading the pesticide; applying the pesticide; and other pesticide-related activities, including, but not limited to, transporting or storing opened pesticide containers, cleaning equipment, and disposing of excess pesticides, spray mix, equipment wash waters, pesticide containers, and other paraquat-containing materials. All paraquat labels include a link to training. Training must be retaken every 3 years. The training is available online from the following two sources:
National Pesticide Safety Education Center (NPSEC)
Pesticide Container Disposal
Pesticide containers shall be properly rinsed prior to disposal or recycling. Refer to CCR 6684 for the proper rinse and drain procedures. Empty pesticide containers are still considered hazardous waste and are only allowed to be disposed of at facilities that accept hazardous waste.
To dispose of your empty & rinsed pesticide container at the Maxwell Transfer Station, please contact our office at (530) 458-0580 to request an inspection to receive a rinse certificate & disposal permit. You must provide a quantity of containers for each size. Permit is valid for 10 days.
For more information about disposal, open Pesticide Container Disposal.
Go to Invasive Species to learn more.
The primary responsibilities of the Pest Detection/Emergency Projects Branch (PD/EP) are the early detection and prompt eradication of serious agricultural pests from California. This is accomplished through the operation of a statewide detection trapping program, special detection surveys, and the maintenance of emergency projects response teams. The Branch administers the statewide detection trapping program through trapping contracts with 46 county departments of agriculture. State personnel conduct trapping in Orange, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Riverside, Santa Clara, Marin, Mendocino, Yolo, and Yuba Counties. Functionally, Branch activities may be divided into the following four components: Managerial, Operations Center, Pest Detection, and Emergency Projects.
The primary objectives of the statewide pest detection system are to find insect pests before they infest one square mile and plant diseases before they exceed one-half of a square mile.
Insects targeted for detection by the statewide network of traps include exotic fruit flies (particularly species of Bactrocera, Dacus, Ceratitis, and Anastrepha), Japanese beetle, light brown apple moth, khapra beetle, gypsy moth, European corn borer, and European pine shoot moth.
Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter (GWSS) Natural Enemies and Production Process
A natural enemy is an organism that lives at the expense of another organism and which may limit the population of this organism. Only a few natural enemies are biological control agents; see the biological control section for a discussion on this subject. For more information and discussion on this subject go to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s website by clicking GWSS Natural Enemies.
Production Process
The many insects that are selected for research are easy to rear; artificial diets have been developed for hornworms, drosophila, wax moths, and cabbage white butterflies. Other insects are herbivores so only one plant needs to be produced to rear them. Even predators some parasitoids can be easy to rear as they may be reared on easy to rear alternative hosts or artificial eggs. Unfortunately such is not the case with GWSS egg parasitoids. While the wasps themselves are relatively easy to rear, obtaining a reliable year-round supply of eggs is very hard. In the field, GWSS feed on large perennial plants and switch hosts as the season changes. They can oviposit on plants on which they rarely feed and once the nymphs emerge, they frequently leave the ovipositional plant to feed on other plants. And even in the field GWSS cease to oviposit in California winters. In an attempt to rear GWSS biological control agents, we are attempting not only to duplicate field conditions but improve on them. For more information the production process go to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s website Production Process.
Noxious Weed Program
The Noxious Weed Information Project (NWIP) is a part of Integrated Pest Control, a branch of Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services which is a division of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Current activities include collecting and processing data on current weed management projects that are focused primarily on A-rated weeds. NWIP provides maps and other information for CDFA, biologists and the general public.
Go to the CDFA website and learn more by clicking this link Noxious Weed Information.
Vertebrates
This project maintains a staff of biologists with expertise in regulatory weed and vertebrate pest eradication and suppression programs directed at vertebrate pests of limited distribution. Project also provides general supervision, technical assistance and training in vertebrate pest control to county agricultural commissioner personnel engaged in regulatory vertebrate pest control activities.
Go to the CDFA website and learn more by visiting Vertebrate Pest Eradication
The mission of Pest Exclusion is to keep exotic agricultural and environmental pests out of the state of California and to prevent or limit the spread of newly discovered pests within the state. To accomplish this mission, the Branch has two roles: (1) quarantine regulatory compliance and enforcement and (2) service to the agriculture industry and the public.
For more information go to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s website Pest Exclusion
European Grapevine Moth
European Grapevine Moth Control & Biology: Learn more about the European grapevine moth in California and the steps being taken to control it by going to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s website European Grapevine Moth.
The Pest Management Program controls and monitors pest populations of weeds, rodents, and insects below economic threshold levels. This is accomplished through rodenticide manufacturing, weed and rodent control, pest identification, and biological control.
Seed Inspection
The Agricultural Commissioner, in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), carries out most inspection and enforcement activities under the California Seed Law (Section 52288, California Food and Agricultural Code) to verify the accuracy and accessibility of seed label statements as to variety and type, purity, and germination of seed. Enforcement of the California Seed Law regarding marketing and labeling helps ensure that consumers receive the desired product and do not incur costs of time, money and resources resulting from poor seed quality.
Seed Sampling
Our department provides Official Seed Sampling Services for growers, wholesalers and industry related businesses requesting seed samples. These samples are taken for lab analysis for germination, purity, seed moisture etc., by the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Seed Laboratory. Other types of seed sampling services provided by the county include: Service Samples and Seed Sampling for Phytosanitary Export Certification. All sampling procedures used are adhered to and set forth within the California Code of Regulations.
Harvester, Mill, Warehouse Inspections
The Department provides cleanliness inspections for certification purposes in association with the California Crop Improvement Association (CCIA) for growers and processors. Inspectors will attest to the "cleanliness" of harvesters, mills, warehouses and other seed and grain companies for certification and quality standards.
Contact our office at (530) 458-0580 for more information or to request an inspection service.