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LAS VEGAS, Nev. — This year’s United Producers, Formulators & Distributors Association (UPF&DA) Spring Conference, held in Las Vegas in April, brought together UPF&DA members and partners for important discussions about issues affecting the pest control industry.
UPF&DA President Steve Levy, president of Bell Laboratories, told PCT one of the primary goals at this year’s conference was to involve UPF&DA “sister” organizations such as the National Pest Management Association and RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment). NPMA President Steve Scherzinger and PPMA Executive Director Cindy Mannes updated attendees on recent association developments and discussed new partnership opportunities with UPF&DA. RISE President Allen James also updated attendees on his organization's recent developments. “It was important to bring together the top people to speak about issues on the local, state and national level,” Levy said. “UPF&DA is a standing army ready to address regulatory issues and this is a good forum to do so.”
“Hot” regulatory issues on the minds of these groups include the movement in California regarding rodenticides and ecological risk; the transportation of chemicals; and security.
UPF&DA members also are keeping an eye on developments in Canada. On Nov. 17, 2005, the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by CropLife Canada against a bylaw enacted in Toronto banning lawn care use of pesticides. The bylaw, passed in 2003, prohibits homeowners and applicators from using synthetic lawn and garden pesticides within the city limits of Toronto; however, municipal and institutional uses are not affected. Opponents of the Toronto bylaw argue that pesticides are already regulated by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and local regulation is unnecessary and can deprive the public of these useful products. This appeal was the final opportunity for CropLife Canada to stop enforcement of this statute.
A highlight of this year’s program was a presentation by keynote speaker Dr. Patrick Moore, a founding member of Greenpeace, who used to be strict environmentalist but is now more sympathetic to groups such as the specialty chemical industry. Moore's presentation was titled "Environmentalism for the 21st Century: May the Forest be with You." The UPF&DA conference concludes tonight with the popular Texas Hold’em tournament.
Day one of the conference included UPF&DA board and committee meetings. It was also a time to reflect on the contributions of Bell Laboratories Founder Malcolm Stack, the former UPF&DA President who passed away on Sunday (see related story).