Now that EPA’s new herbicide strategy is out, the agency’s administrator pledged to farmers that they will have every tool in the toolbox to support their agricultural operations.
“No farmer should wake up in the middle of a growing season to hear that a court has taken away a product that we all need for them to put food on the table. Growers, manufacturers, environmental groups across the spectrum should agree on this problem,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan told the Ag Allies Conference at the North Carolina State University McKimmon Center in Raleigh Oct. 11.
On Aug. 20, EPA released its final herbicide strategy, designed to protect more than 900 species listed as threatened or endangered. EPA said the regulations include more options for farmers and reduced burden on applicators compared to the July 2023 draft strategy.
At the Ag Allies Conference, sponsored by the NC Chamber, Regan said the new herbicide strategy provides increased flexibility for farmers, including more options for mitigation.
He noted that EPA received thousands of comments when it released its draft strategy last year, with many reiterating the importance of protecting listed species from herbicides but also minimizing impacts on farmers and other pesticide users.
EPA notes the final strategy is more open-ended. Through new rules, pesticide users can implement mitigation measures and reduce additional mitigation needed when users either have already adopted accepted practices to reduce pesticide runoff or apply herbicides in an area where runoff potential is lower.
Giving farmers and EPA more control
In a Q&A at the Ag Allies Conference, Regan said the agency’s work plans, such as the new herbicide strategy, put farmers and EPA back in the driver’s seat rather than the courts. He said that is the purpose of committing resources and time into the plans.
“With you all’s input, I think we are making progress on these work plans because we understand the pressure that exists. And what I believe is now that we have a number of work plans that we have in place that we can both agree on as well as industry, it gives us an opportunity to walk arm and arm into the halls of Congress and articulate a vision for where we need resources to be focused so that we can funnel these resources through,” Regan said.
Regan: ‘Be more surgical’
Regan believes the courts did overstep in regard to EPA compliance with the Endangered Species Act. He said there were a lot of court decisions that told EPA what they can’t do, which leaves the market constrained in terms of pesticides and herbicides.
“If you tell us we can’t do something, then that means we must do something else. I think over the past few administrations maybe EPA hasn’t engaged as productively as I feel we have this administration,” Regan said.
Regan stressed the importance of Congress taking a “surgical” approach to cutting EPA’s budget, rather than using “a blunt instrument.” He noted that with removing products farmers use, there must be workforce in place to find replacement registrations and get them out there.
“No matter what we do, we’re going to face litigations. The best way to do this is to have the scientists, the engineers, the agricultural professionals really think through a strategy to get new products on the market and when they’re litigated, those market entrants will be durable and can withstand the litigation and then the market will thrive,” he said.
“I truly believe that with these work plans that we put together to get beyond some of the past transgressions around the Endangered Species Act coupled with a very strategic approach with the right science backing new products that we all want to see in the market we can give our farmers a lot more tools to put the food on the table that all of us need.”
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