Farmers spraying fields near roads will face new challenges this year under the EPA’s updated pesticide application exclusion zone rules.

The changes mean stopping the sprayer whenever a vehicle enters the application exclusion zone, which sounds simple enough, but it’s not always that easy.

On quiet country roads, it might mean pausing for just a moment. But on busy roads, constant stopping and starting can slow things down, stretch out the workday and leave farmers scrambling to find workarounds. They may need to rethink their application strategies entirely.

One of the biggest rule changes includes spray droplet size around the AEZ. For that, Sam Polly, University of Missouri pesticide safety education program coordinator, says farmers and applicators need to pay close attention to record-keeping.

“If they can show an ag inspector that they were diligent to watch their AEZ bubble and respond accordingly,” he says, “then they are covered much better by documentation than mere word of mouth.”

Why the update?

Near the end of last year, EPA issued a final rule to revise a pesticide regulation first introduced in 2015 — the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard, which set a buffer area where people are not allowed to be present during pesticide applications.

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EPA’s decision stems from surveillance reports of pesticide exposure incidents.

For example, in 2018 a man driving to work in Washington state came in contact with pesticides from an air blast application conducted 30 to 40 feet away. Similar incidents reported to EPA involved school buses, utilities and other workers exposed along adjacent roads to spray applications.

However, during the rule comment period, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture said the need for AEZ is not supported by incident data. The EPA disagreed with their assertion and maintained that too often exposure incidents remain underreported.

NASDA also stated the new rules were burdensome for farmers and pesticide handlers. EPA countered with “the benefits of the AEZ extending to workers and bystanders off-establishment outweigh the burden on the regulated community.”

The agency added that the updates address gaps in protection for individuals both on and off agricultural establishments.

Key AEZ changes

Here are a few rule changes for 2025:

Expanded AEZ applicability

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Adjusted buffer distances

Clarifications on resuming applications

Flexibility for family-owned farms

Given the nature of family farming operations, EPA agreed to an exemption allowing immediate family members to remain within the AEZ under certain conditions:

Ultimately, for farmers, understanding these changes is critical to ensuring compliance with the revised AEZ rules.

On-farm changes to consider

Under the final rule, applicators must suspend pesticide applications when vehicles enter the AEZ.

According to EPA, in most cases, farmers could manage the burden by suspending the application as the vehicle approaches the AEZ and resuming the application once the vehicle leaves.

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However, in cases when a heavily trafficked road is adjacent to field, it admits that it may be difficult for the applicator to suspend and resume applications between passing vehicles. This is where it says changes to spray time, products or alternative pest control methods could reduce risk.

For Polly, farmers' best bet is to document in their records whether they have fine spray droplets, or medium to coarse, along with any starts or stops due to AEZ entries.

Rusty Lee, an MU Extension agronomist who conducts pesticide applicator training across the state, echoes Polly’s advice, noting the value in record-keeping.

“When it comes to action taken and measurements made,” he says, “if you don’t write it down, it didn’t happen.”