The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently dismissed a petition regarding the crop protection tool chlorpyrifos, a decision the National Corn Growers Association and American Farm Bureau Federation have praised. The Obama administration had considered a ban on chlorpyrifos in 2015, but the decision had not been finalized.

“We are pleased with the EPA’s decision today to deny a petition against chlorpyrifos and return to the standard pesticides review process as called for under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA),” said NCGA President Wesley Spurlock. “The overwhelming scientific consensus is that chlorpyrifos is safe for use by farmers, and we are confident that the pesticide review process will reaffirm this.”

“Farmers nationwide depend on chlorpyrifos in managing their crops,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall. “It is widely and safely used for a wide range of crops, including alfalfa, citrus, vegetables, soybeans, almonds and others. It also protects hundreds of thousands of acres of grass seed production, where it controls aphids, cutworms and other pests. As USDA has noted, chlorpyrifos has been used as a part of environmentally friendly IPM (integrated pest management) programs for nearly 50 years.”