# Complete an Irish spray record sheet, field by field

URL: https://leafwrit.com/ie/spray-record-sheet/
Reviewed: 2026-10-23

Complete a spray record sheet from the actual application, keeping product identity, location, quantity and operator together. DAFM’s completed crop example recommends recording ideally on the day of use and stresses legible entries and explicit units. The instructions below follow that official example. [^1]

## Open the appropriate official document

DAFM’s record-keeping catalogue supplies the crop/IPM record sheet, completed crop examples, an amenity-use sheet, an amenity example and a specific-area risk-assessment template. Choose the document that describes the work location. [^2]

- [Open DAFM’s crop and IPM PDF](https://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/media/pesticides/content/sud/professional/1.%20IPM%20Pesticide%20Application%20Record%20Sheet%20080223%20140223.pdf).
- [Read DAFM’s completed crop example and instructions](https://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/media/pesticides/content/sud/professional/2.%20Pesticide%20Application%20Record%20Sheet%20-%20Completed%20Crop%20Example%20030823.pdf).
- [Open DAFM’s amenity-use PDF](https://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/media/pesticides/content/sud/professional/4.%20IPM%20Pesticide%20Application%20Record%20Sheet%20Amenity%20Use%20080223%20140223.pdf).

The official crop sheet includes the treatment table and IPM material. Keep the instructions with the working copy so that a colleague completing the record sees the same field meanings. For council or grounds work, the [local-authority guide](/ie/local-authority-spray-records/) explains the separate site and risk-assessment pack. [^3][^4]

## Start with the holding and the correct date

DAFM asks for the relevant herd number or equivalent and the location/LPIS number. Its guidance identifies the latest BISS application as a source for the parcel reference. The application date describes when the product was applied to the crop or situation. [^1]

Place the holding identification where it stays attached to the whole record. If you print several pages, give your office a consistent way to identify which holding and season each belongs to. Arrange the underlying operator notes by application date before transcription. Keep the receipt date of a contractor’s report in an office note if you need it for administration.

For work crossing several parcels, prepare the location list first. DAFM permits the relevant locations/LPIS numbers to be included together when the same crop or situation receives the same spray programme. Its instructions also explain continuing with a new location reference below the last record. [^1]

Choose the arrangement that preserves the relationship between the actual places and treatments. Keep an understandable description of any treated sector beside its reference. Avoid grouping records merely because the operations happened during the same afternoon.

## Copy product name and PCS from the container

The product-name instruction is unusually specific: take the name from the container used, not an invoice or receipt. DAFM gives the same direction for the PCS number and expressly excludes an invoice or the PRCD website as the source for that recorded number. [^1]

Transcribe the complete name and retain any suffix that distinguishes the pack. Ask the operator about an unclear label while the original material is available. Use a photograph as a transcription aid in your filing method if you already have one, and link it to the job it explains.

The [pesticide register guide](/ie/pesticide-register-ireland/) explains authorisation research separately. A database search helps you investigate the authorised use; the application record still identifies the container actually used. Compare the two identities without replacing the observed pack with a similar search result.

When documenting a mixture, keep each constituent’s identity and quantity distinguishable. Give the office enough information to read a product line independently. Avoid a private mixture nickname as the only description of what went into the treatment.

## Describe the crop or situation precisely

DAFM’s examples include spring barley, grassland, yards and associated areas. For a crop, its instructions ask you to indicate spring or winter sowing where appropriate. [^1]

Write the situation that was actually treated. Distinguish a growing crop from a yard, verge, storage setting or other location description used by your business. Retain the ordinary field name alongside the administrative reference if both help colleagues identify it.

For horticultural work, organise the crop description and treated unit before copying a general farm heading. For pasture, keep the field note connected to the relevant paddock or sector. The [grassland record guide](/ie/grassland-spray-records/) adds the grazing and weed-management information for that situation.

## Record treated extent, product rate and total quantity

DAFM describes the area/tonnage entry as the size of the field or location, or tonnage, to which the pesticide was applied. It stresses units such as kg/ha and l/ha. Its separate end-user requirements include the quantity of each product actually applied in kilograms or litres. [^1][^5]

| Description | Question the value answers | Useful heading in your working notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Treated extent | How much land or material received treatment? | Area with ha, or tonnage with tonnes |
| Application rate | How much product per stated unit? | Rate together with denominator |
| Total product | How much product was applied to this job? | Product quantity with L or kg |
| Water volume | What carrier-water figure describes the application? | Water with the stated reference unit |

These distinctions follow DAFM’s application headings and separate end-user quantity requirement. Keep their meanings intact if you extend the form in a workbook. [^1][^5]

## Worked example: organising the quantities

This is an **invented arithmetic example**, not a product recommendation or an authorised use. Assume a job treats 3 ha at an assumed product rate of 0.5 L/ha with an assumed water volume of 150 L/ha. The product total is 3 × 0.5 = 1.5 L; the water total is 3 × 150 = 450 L.

| Example entry | Invented value |
| --- | --- |
| Treated area | 3 ha |
| Product rate | 0.5 L/ha |
| Total product | 1.5 L |
| Water volume | 150 L/ha |
| Total water | 450 L |

Read each figure with its heading. The value 0.5 describes product per hectare; it does not describe total litres in the tank. The value 450 describes the assumed carrier-water total; it does not identify the amount of product. In a real entry, replace every assumption with the actual job information and retain the product’s own instructions.

If a contractor provides a bare number, ask which quantity it represents before transcribing it. Keep the clarification with the original report. Where a workbook calculates totals, inspect the formula and the unit in the resulting column. Retain entered values separately from calculated summaries in your working arrangement.

## Add water and application method

DAFM says product labels indicate the water volume needed for coverage and that those instructions must be followed. Its application-method field identifies equipment such as a knapsack or boom sprayer. [^1]

Take the water figure from the application information and retain its unit. Describe the method actually used. A saved default deserves a fresh review when the same product is applied with different equipment or to a different situation.

DAFM’s GPPP guide explains that some crop treatments express product dose as a concentration in a specified water quantity. Preserve that concentration and its reference quantity rather than forcing it into an unexplained per-hectare column. [^6]

In a spreadsheet, put unit labels in headings that remain visible on the printed copy. Before sending a file, inspect a page break through the treatment table. Ensure that the product rate does not lose its denominator when the heading wraps or the column narrows.

## Record the aquatic buffer actually applied

The DAFM example provides a field for the aquatic buffer applied. Where STRIPE reduces the prescribed label buffer, its instructions ask for the DAFM-approved low-drift nozzle actually used. The nozzle field is conditional on use of that initiative. [^1]

Keep the evidence for the nozzle decision alongside the job. Use the [STRIPE record guide](/ie/stripe-buffer-zone-records/) to distinguish manufacturer, model, category and the product-specific reduction check. Keep drinking-water safeguard zones in the location assessment as a separate issue: DAFM requires compliance with those as well as label buffers. [^7]

Do not substitute the label’s starting distance for the distance actually recorded without explaining the applicable decision. Retain the relevant location description so that someone reviewing the record knows which water feature the entry concerns.

## Identify the person and equipment independently

The PU field identifies the DAFM-registered person applying the product, whether owner or contractor. The sprayer-certificate field refers to the certificate number located on the application equipment. [^1]

Keep a people directory and an equipment directory as separate working lists. Record the person who did the work rather than simply the account holder who typed the row. If more than one operator contributed to a report, obtain the relationship between the person and the individual application.

For equipment, compare the recorded number with the certificate or equipment identification used for the job. When a substitute sprayer is used, review the saved machine details before repeating an earlier entry. The [inspection guide](/ie/pesticide-records-inspection/) sets the equipment document within the wider farm evidence pack.

## Write the IPM reason and retain the decision record

DAFM’s rationale field records the justification for use. The accompanying guidance says annual IPM records must be maintained and made available for inspection. The department’s IPM principles include pest monitoring, non-chemical methods, anti-resistance strategies and recording the success of the measure. [^1][^8]

Describe the observation supporting this intervention: the affected place, the problem observed and the decision taken. Connect the treatment row to the monitoring note or assessment used by your team. Keep the later evaluation with the same reference so it can be read with the initial reason.

For a sensitive public site, add the separate assessment rather than squeezing it into a short rationale cell. DAFM’s specific-area template asks about the pest, hazard, location and physical, biological and cultural controls. [^4]

## Check a contractor’s row before filing it

Review the delivered report against the same headings. Confirm that the customer location, product identity, quantities, units and applying PU can be identified without relying on the invoice description. Retain the contractor’s original report and attach any correction received afterwards.

For a local authority, DAFM requires contractor contact details and access to application, IPM and risk-assessment records. The [council guide](/ie/local-authority-spray-records/) provides a handover structure for that work. [^9]

Ask targeted questions about missing information. “Which parcel received the treatment?” and “Does this figure describe litres per hectare or total litres?” are easier to resolve than an unqualified request for a better form. Keep the response with the row it repairs.

## Preserve a usable season copy

Professional users retain application records for three years from the application date under the DAFM completed example. Keep a season index and a copy that can be opened independently of the original entry session. [^1]

Before sharing, review headings, dates, decimal values, parcel references and operator identity in the actual output. Search for a treatment using both a field name and a product name. Give the receiving colleague the index needed to locate the supporting documents.

If you are choosing a diary instead of a workbook, use the [app comparison](/ie/spray-records-app/) to test the same row through capture, correction and export. The important procurement exercise is to preserve the relationship between the values when they leave the entry screen.

## Complete the IPM checklist as a description of practice

The DAFM crop/IPM sheet says to tick only the options currently practised on the holding. Its prevention examples include nutrient management, soil testing, certified seed, resistant varieties, residue management, sowing date, beneficial organisms, cultivation and storage hygiene. These are checklist categories for describing practice, rather than a requirement to claim that every option was used. [^3]

For monitoring, the same sheet includes warning or forecasting systems, weather information, identifying pests, crop observation, adviser monitoring and traps or lures. Its decision section distinguishes adviser decisions, joint decisions and pest-threshold-based decisions. Keep the evidence supporting the relevant practice with the holding’s IPM material. [^3]

When completing the checklist, identify which person can explain the selected practice. Attach the monitoring note or advisory document by a reference your office can retrieve. If an option does not describe your actual operation, leave it out of the claimed practice instead of filling the page for visual completeness.

The non-chemical section lists natural enemies, micro-organism products, crop fleeces, netting, propane burners, mechanical weeders, manual methods, deterrents and topping or mowing. The product-choice section mentions modes of action, resistance, following crops, buffers and avoiding insecticide use around foraging bees. Read each item in its checklist context; it is not a product authorisation for a proposed treatment. [^3]

Keep checklist evidence separate from a treatment recommendation. A general statement that the holding considers reduced rates does not override a particular label restriction. DAFM’s GPPP guidance ties applications to the product’s authorised conditions. [^6]

## Make an exported worksheet understandable without the original operator

Prepare a compact column dictionary alongside your workbook. For each heading, write the intended meaning, unit and source document. Distinguish an internal job reference from a parcel identifier, and an operator code from the applying person’s PU number. Keep the dictionary with the season copy so a later colleague can interpret the spreadsheet without opening an old message thread.

Inspect the printing and export steps with a deliberately awkward record: a long product name, several parcel references and a detailed rationale. Read the output for truncated words, displaced units and headings separated from their values. If a view contains filters, describe the scope of the copy you are delivering in the accompanying office note.

When a correction changes several linked summaries, keep a small reconciliation list. Identify the original operator report, the revised row and the customer copy affected. Ask the receiving colleague to locate the corrected application using that list. This is a practical retrieval check, not a new statutory record field.

For handwriting, transcribe uncertain lettering only after obtaining clarification. For spreadsheet imports, compare the date and decimal values with the original. Preserve the original attachment and the explanation of any changed value. When the report comes from a contractor, keep the provider’s own job identifier alongside your holding reference so both offices can discuss the same application.

### Spray record sheet?

DAFM provides a crop/IPM sheet and completed crop guidance. Record the actual application and keep its units explicit. [^2][^1]

### Spray record template PDF?

Use the official DAFM crop/IPM PDF linked above, or the amenity PDF for that situation. [^2]

### Spray record sheet Excel?

Map the workbook columns to the official record meanings; retain rate, total quantity, area and water as distinguishable values. [^1][^5]

### Chemical spray record template?

Use the product name and PCS number from the actual container, with the location and treatment details. [^1]

### Where do I record crop growth-stage information?

Keep the crop/situation and the applicable label-timing evidence with the application. DAFM explains that some product labels specify crop-growth-stage windows. [^1]

### What is the difference between PCS, PU and LPIS?

PCS identifies the product; PU identifies the applying person; location/LPIS identifies the treatment place or parcel in DAFM’s completion guidance. [^1]

## Sources

- [DAFM — completed crop example and record-completion guidance, August 2023](https://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/media/pesticides/content/sud/professional/2.%20Pesticide%20Application%20Record%20Sheet%20-%20Completed%20Crop%20Example%20030823.pdf), read 2026-10-23
- [DAFM PRCD — Record Keeping, official download index](https://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/sud/professionaluserssprayeroperators/recordkeeping/), read 2026-10-23
- [DAFM — IPM and Pesticide Application Record Sheet, blank and example pages, 2023 PDF](https://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/media/pesticides/content/sud/professional/1.%20IPM%20Pesticide%20Application%20Record%20Sheet%20080223%20140223.pdf), read 2026-10-23
- [DAFM — Risk Assessment Requirement in Specific Areas and blank example, August 2023](https://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/media/pesticides/content/sud/professional/Risk%20Assessment%20Template%20Example%20Specific%20Areas%20230823.pdf), read 2026-10-23
- [DAFM: Storage and Record Keeping Requirements for End Users, 26 July 2023](https://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/media/pesticides/content/sud/professional/End%20User%20Storage%20and%20Record%20Keeping%20Requirements%20260723.pdf), read 2026-10-23
- [DAFM — Good Plant Protection Practice, revised June 2024, SI 155/2012 regulation 15](https://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/media/pesticides/content/sud/professional/Good%20Plant%20Protection%20PracticeGPPP040624MLU050624.pdf), read 2026-10-23
- [DAFM PRCD — Water Protection, buffer and sector guidance index](https://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/sud/waterprotection/), read 2026-10-23
- [DAFM: Integrated Pest Management](https://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/sud/integratedpestmanagement/), read 2026-10-23
- [DAFM — Guidance for Local Authorities on Sustainable Use of Pesticides, March 2024](https://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/media/pesticides/content/sud/integratedpestmanagement/Guidance%20for%20Local%20Authorities%20to%20ensure%20compliance%20with%20the%20Sustainable%20Use%20of%20Pesticides%20Directive%20220324.pdf), read 2026-10-23