Mike Pearson takes a look at the recent herbicide strategy released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The strategy doesn't impose any direct rules for how herbicide can e used on farms but does set the stage for the future tied to the registration of new herbicides.

Farmers will need to realign their practices to the new rules which are designed to stop herbicide runoff and spray drift.

The new strategy emphasizes conservation practices such as cover crops, conservation tillage and windbreaks. The idea is for farmers to minimize the environmental impact on herbicides.

Farm groups say the practices won't work on all farms.

The farm groups say they approve of the improvements in the final strategy but unsure if the strategy will be practical for all farmers. They claim the cost and complexity of the new rules could be confusing.

The new strategy also introduces a new mitigation menu and a calculator to determine what other practices they might need to adopt.

Farm Progress America is a daily look at key issues in agriculture. It is produced and presented by Mike Pearson, farm broadcaster and host of This Week in Agribusiness.