Course Goals

July 14-17, 2026 | Willamette Valley, OR

  • Educate new and experienced field staff on emerging agricultural issues and concerns regarding varying pesticide use patterns and new regulations.
  • Enhance participants’ ability to meet the present challenges of enforcing FIFRA. Topics may include pollinator protection, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), ESA, PEI inspection including container/containment, language barriers, devices, label interpretation, AEZ, and rodenticide updates.
  • Provide networking opportunities for those in the pesticide community.

Target Audience

State, Territory and Tribal Pesticide inspectors operating under a cooperative agreement that would benefit from a review of current hot topics related to ag use inspections with a minimum of two years of experience.

Nominations & Participants

  • Aaron Bailey — West Virginia Department of Agriculture
  • Adam Collins — Iowa Department of Agriculture
  • Adam Meredith — Hawaii Department of Agriculture & Biosecurity
  • Alejandro Perez — Arizona Department of Agriculture
  • Alberto Hernández — Washington State Department of Agriculture
  • Alexis Himes — South Dakota Department of Agriculture
  • Benjamin Molifua — Oregon Department of Agriculture
  • Brian Schmidt — Missouri Department of Agriculture
  • Brooke Dailey — Ohio Department of Agriculture
  • Bryce Merritt — Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
  • Cory Cooley — Oregon Department of Agriculture
  • Dustin Frachiseur — Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries
  • Elizabeth Houk — EPA Region 9
  • Harlee Hiatt Seal — Georgia Department of Agriculture
  • Heather Rickenbach — Oregon Department of Agriculture
  • Jacob Degenstein — Montana Department of Agriculture
  • Kash Kruep — EPA Region 7
  • Kimberlee Littleton — Colorado Department of Agriculture
  • Kristen Ridarick — EPA Region 2
  • Maria Duenas — Guam Environmental Protection Agency
  • Matthew Martinez — Colorado Department of Agriculture
  • Nathan Wolfe — Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, & Consumer Protection
  • Olivialynn Vaiomounga — American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency
  • Sofia Furlong — New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
  • Thad DeWeese — Kansas Department of Agriculture
  • Toby Primbs — Oregon Department of Agriculture
  • Turner Cotton — Missouri Department of Agriculture
  • Tyler Harran — North Carolina Department of Agriculture
  • Zachary Safford — Maryland Department of Agriculture 

Planning Committee

  • Andrea Sonnen – Oregon Department of Agriculture
  • Chad Schultze – US EPA Region 10 
  • Joe (Cricket) Herrera – Yakama Nation
  • Kaci Buhl – Oregon State University
  • Otto Oemig – Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection
  • Pat Jones – North Carolina Department of Agriculture
  • Ryan WIlliams – Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry
  • Tim Stein – Washington State Department of Agriculture
  • Toby Primbs – Oregon Department of Agriculture 

Travel & Lodging Information

  • State, Territory, and Tribal Participants
    • Lodging, flight, and ground transportation will be arranged and paid for by the PIRT team. There is no registration fee for State, Territory, and Tribal Participants.
  • EPA Participants
    • EPA Participants are responsible for reserving their own flights, lodging, and ground transportation. There is a registration fee for EPA participants.
  • More information will be shared via email after accepted attendees complete the course registration form. Please look for these in your Inbox/Spam folder.