Free Chemical Tracking and Weed Spraying Log Book

Spraying of agricultural chemicals falls under the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1992 which outlines the obligations to ensure that any chemicals you apply stay within the targeted area.

It is important to ensure that you:

1. Have the correct license or permit to spray,
2. Comply with notification requirements, and;
3. Make chemical use records.

There are many options on the market to help track the spray of chemicals such as in a logbook or spray diary. These can be in a physical form such as the SprayLog Diary or even as a spray diary app or web application. There is new technology available in the market such as the Rapid Logix Universal Flow Tracker that tracks weed mapping and chemical flow from automatically with a device attached to the spray gun.

Spray diaries aim to make it easy for chemical users to quickly assign, record and visualize spray tasks across farms, public spaces, national parks, environmentally protected zones or even urban environments for both contractors, primary producers or government organisations.

What does a spray diary / spray log book record?

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Spray logbooks, both offline and online, aim to capture the spray jobs title, location of spray task (i.e. farm name, paddock, address, GPS coordinates or public area), date of the spray application and the name of the operator applying the chemicals.

Hazard maps are recommended, with issues such as spray drift a legal obligation to report. It is a requirement that a “person must not carry out agricultural spraying which injuriously affects –

1. any plants or stock outside the target area; or
2. any land outside the target area so that growing plants or keeping stock on that land can be reasonably expected to result in the contamination of the stock or of agricultural produce derived from the plants or stock.”

With hazard maps and setting aside time to adequately plan any spray program, while ensuring any spray activities are limited to target species and locations, you will greatly limit the possibility for off-target chemical movement, as well as risking any legal obligations resulting from prosecution. It is a requirement to notify neighbours or the public in the relevant areas (at risk of spray drift for example) that spraying is goingto commence and when. Keep a record of this to protect yourself and / or the operators.

Chemical spray records require the reporting of which chemicals used, the volume spray and application rate. It is also recommended to record the application method such as field sprayer, backpack, spot sprayer or drone.

It is also important to remember the need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during the application process as this greatly limits the exposure to dangerous chemicals which over time could cause health problems. It is the responsibility of the operator or farmer to ensure their own safety and read all MSDS reports when dealing with chemicals.

The application of the chemicals is recorded: the pests / target weeds including their spread / growth areas helps determine the size of the infestation, plus the appropriate application rate of the chemicals and the area treated. Recording the sprayer setup such as nozzles or booms is also on most spray diary logging records. Don’t forget to take note of the ground speed and spraying pressure, as this completes the requirements for chemical applications.

Finally, the last thing to record is the weather at the point of spraying. Due to shifting wind speeds, wind direction, temperature and humidity levels, spray drift be increased. Read our article of Reducing Spray Drift to see how even spraying at night can cause chemical to settle in the air versus on target species. Minimise this with carefully planned spraying windows in the right weather conditions.

You or the operators spraying should always sign-off the spraying job and include any notes on the spraying job if required. Remember if any spray drift has been suspected, report this instantly to limit penalties and save any plant, animal or human life that might be accidentally affected.  

Spray diaries or spray logbooks are great at record keeping. However, most of this information is a laborious process which takes away time from the actual spraying or other important tasks. With the Universal Flow Tracker (UFT) and Rapid Logix software, all the data required (job data, operators’ information, chemical data, etc.) can be loaded into the system which the mapping and chemical rate /application data is automatically tracked.

No longer do you have to carefully map out the area sprayed after spraying or retrace your steps to record the weeds / pests targeted. Simply load the data into the system or your target species and then choose between three options on your device at the spray gun. With GPS tracking down to the point of the spray gun, their will be no question of accurate weed mapping or chemical mapping reports. With a flow meter inside the UFT tracking the chemical volume at point of spray, know your chemical application data is accurate.

Weather data is automatically uploaded from private weather stations nationwide to get accurate information included in your spray records. No guesswork required.

Call us to discuss your best solution for spray tracking - the SprayLog Diary or the Universal Flow Tracker from Rapid Logix.