The Welsh Government provides a Pesticide treatment record in ODT format. Its form page describes it as a way for farmers to keep the required application record. For a 2026 Welsh operation, use the form with the current SMR 10 guidance and the relevant scheme documents, rather than relying on the age of the blank alone. [1][3][4]
Download the official Welsh ODT treatment record. The downloaded document contains bilingual Welsh and English headings for the worker, date, site, crop or treated material, treatment reason, product identity, quantities, application times, weather and other information. [2]
Start with the right 2026 guidance
Welsh Government publishes a 2026 cross-compliance SMR 10 page and a separate 2026 Sustainable Farming Scheme regulatory-baseline SMR 10 page. Both address restrictions on using plant protection products. Keep the relevant scheme reference beside your farm's records so correspondence about an inspection can be matched with its actual procedure. [3][4]
The cross-compliance page says the requirements apply where products are used on your land. It requires valid product authorisation, trained and certificated users, compliance with label and authorisation conditions and records of applications. The SFS baseline page also sets out those subjects. A downloaded blank is therefore one component of the evidence, rather than the whole scheme file. [3][4]
Organise your folder under the scheme that applies to the business. Retain the treatment record in a place where it can also be found by subject and season. This avoids storing a contractor report under an old folder name that only one administrator recognises. Preserve the title and date of the guidance used when preparing an inspection pack.
What the Welsh application record should describe
The 2026 cross-compliance SMR 10 guidance lists date and time, location and size of the treated area, crop, treatment reason, product including MAPP or MAFF number, amount, weather and other relevant information. It also links application records to SMR 4. [3]
| Question | Form heading or supporting detail |
|---|---|
| Who did the work? | Worker's name |
| When did it happen? | Date, start and finish times |
| Where was treated? | Site and total treated area |
| What was treated? | Crop, area, material or structure |
| Why was treatment undertaken? | Reason for treatment |
| Which product was applied? | Product and MAPP or HSE number in the ODT |
| How much was applied? | Product dose and application volume with units |
| What explains the circumstances? | Weather and other relevant information |
The headings in this table come from the downloaded Welsh form. Its product-number wording uses MAPP or HSE, while the current SMR 10 text refers to MAPP or MAFF. Preserve the actual product identity and the relevant document reference when reconciling the form with the guidance. [2][3]
Identify the worker and application
Enter the name of the person who applied the treatment in the worker field. Keep the date attached to the application, and preserve the start and finish times recorded for that work. The form also has a total-hours heading. Those fields help describe the operation's timing without substituting a later transcription date. [2]
If a contractor provides the information, retain the job reference in your supporting index. Ask for clarification when a company name appears where the individual worker should be identifiable. Do not reconstruct application times from an invoice date. Keep the contractor's original report and the explanation of any correction together.
For repeated visits to the same location, distinguish each application before entering the figures. Compare the date, site, treatment reason and product with the original note. An older row can be useful for locating the field, but its values should be reviewed against the current operation before copying.
Record the treated place and extent
The Welsh form separates the site from the crop, area, material or structure treated, and from total area treated. Its total-area heading offers hectares or square metres. The current guidance similarly asks for both location and size of the treated area. [2][3]
For your filing system, link the site name to a field directory or other clear location description. If a treatment covers only part of a field, make the relationship between the field and treated extent understandable in the supporting note. Keep the quantity's unit beside the value when transcribing it. Where different workers use different field names, retain an agreed correspondence.
The Welsh inspection guide explicitly includes spot spraying in the request for up-to-date pesticide-use records. A small or targeted operation therefore belongs in the review of the farm's pesticide use. Ask the operator for the actual site and treatment details rather than overlooking the job because it was done with smaller equipment. [5]
Keep product dose and volume distinct
The downloaded ODT has a dose heading expressed as litres or kilograms per hectare, a volume-applied heading with litres per hectare or square metre, and a total-area heading. Read the heading and unit with the value: these columns describe different aspects of the application. [2]
Before transferring a contractor's note, establish which number describes the formulated product and which describes application volume. If the report uses different units from your working form, preserve the original value and document the conversion method in your own notes. Avoid making the same abbreviation stand for both product quantity and spray-water volume.
Use the product's full identity and the relevant number to link the entry with supporting information. Welsh SMR 10 says the product must be used in accordance with its label, authorisation, permit or extension of use. The record should be organised so the applicable use conditions can be located for the treatment being examined. [3]
Weather and other circumstances
The Welsh form names wind speed and direction as examples of weather information. The 2026 SMR 10 record list includes conditions at the time of treatment, while its good-practice section says applications must remain confined to the target area and spraying weather must minimise drift risk. [2][3]
Record observations from the operation with their context. If a later administrative note explains where a weather value came from, keep that explanation rather than presenting it as a fresh measurement. Use the other-information field for circumstances needed to understand the record, and place longer supporting material in the indexed job folder.
Where the label has a buffer condition, keep the relevant assessment or recorded distance traceable to the application. The LERAP guide explains the separate record for qualifying aquatic-buffer decisions. Use the actual product and equipment context when assembling that evidence.
What the inspector cross-checks
The 2026 Welsh inspection guide describes sampling products in store, taking information such as product identity and MAPP or MAFF number, and sampling treated fields against farm records. Its record check covers purchased and used pesticide information, crop suitability under label specifications and entries for identified treated fields. [5]
Prepare a connected set of documents rather than a pile of unrelated printouts. Choose one treatment and locate the entry, product identity, field reference and contractor report. Read the quantities with their units. Check that the information in the working copy still agrees with the original report and the field directory.
The same inspection guide asks contractors to provide detailed records. If a report is incomplete, request the particular missing information while the person who did the work can still identify the job. Keep the request and reply with the treatment reference. The contract handover guide gives a more detailed division of records between customer and applicator. [5]
Keep supporting duties in separate sections
Welsh SMR 10 also addresses professional-user registration, certification and equipment testing. Its guidance asks for up-to-date records of equipment inspections, checks and repairs. Keep those documents indexed separately from individual treatment entries, with references that allow the relevant machine or person to be found. [3]
Defra's registration instructions include businesses having PPPs applied by a third party. A Welsh farm outsourcing treatment should therefore handle registration and the contractor's job record as separate administrative tasks. Use the professional-user registration guide for the former. [6]
Review the ODT as a working document
Save an untouched copy of the official blank and complete a separate working copy. Preserve headings and units when adapting the layout. When several people add entries, agree who reviews the document and which filename identifies the version used for the archive. Use your own index to connect attachments without crowding the record with unexplained file abbreviations.
Reopen the saved document and compare a completed entry with the original job note. Check that the whole treatment remains legible across page breaks and that no heading has become detached from its values. Layout checks on the completed document belong to the person preparing the record; this guide's inspection of the source file established its text and fields.
Before supplying records, follow the document list in the actual request. Preserve the authority, reference, submission copy and response in the same case folder. Keep scheme correspondence attached to its correct 2026 framework. A reliable index makes the pesticide record usable for routine management as well as a later review.
Match the record to the inspection question
The Welsh 2026 SMR 10 field-check examples include the maximum individual dose, maximum number of applications, correct timing, protective equipment and withdrawal periods. Keep each requested point connected with the relevant treatment and supporting document. A product identification, application history and operator record answer different parts of that comparison. [3]
Prepare an inspection index using the actual request’s headings. Against each heading, identify the document supplied and its application reference. Keep a separate note of explanations requested from the contractor or farm manager, then retain the reply with its original context. This suggested index helps distinguish submitted evidence from drafts, internal queries and superseded copies.