Republican Presidential Candidate and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul wants to end the Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the US legislation. He said that the EPA is perpetrating the largest land grab of American farmland in history and non one is paying attention. He kicked off a statewide radio campaign in Iowa week “decrying the Obama Administration’s land grab of Iowa farmland”. The … Read More
Senate Committee Stops EPA Pesticide Rule
A U.S. Senate committee has stopped what many see as an overreach by the federal government on pesticide use. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works today passed S. 1500, the Sensible Environmental Protection Act of 2015, a bipartisan measure that amends the Clean Water Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to clarify Congressional intent … Read More
White House Releases Pollinator Strategy
Last June, President Obama called for an interagency Task Force to create a Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators. Today, the Task Force released its strategy, under the joint leadership of EPA and USDA. The strategy has outlined three primary goals: reduce honey bee colony losses to economically sustainable levels; increase monarch butterfly numbers to … Read More
Global Cancer Group Findings on Glyphosate Disputed
A new evaluation by the International Agency for Research classifying glyphosate as being “probably carcinogenic to humans” departs from the general scientific consensus, according to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. “This contradicts a strong and long standing consensus supported by a vast array of data and real world experience, and comes from an organization that rarely addresses potential pesticide … Read More
Monsanto and FMC Extend Partnership
Monsanto and FMC Agricultural Solutions have agreed to extend an agreement which will benefit corn, cotton and soybean growers through Roundup Ready PLUS® Crop Management Solutions” by including Hero® insecticide. Hero insecticide is a combination of two pyrethroid-based insecticides with activity against 45 labeled insects and is an effective tank-mix partner with fungicides, post-herbicides and foliar fertilizers on multi-pest complexes … Read More
EPA Reopens Neonic Comment Period
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reopened the comment period on an agency assessment regarding the use of neonicotinoid seed treatments in soybeans. The “Benefits of Neonicotinoid Seed Treatment to Soybean Production” assessment was released as part of the EPA’s review of clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam seed treatments, all classified as neonicotinoids. The assessment found neonics to be of … Read More
USDA: Pesticide Residues Don’t Pose Food Safety Concern
A new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirms that pesticide residues do not pose a threat to the safety of U.S. food. This USDA news release says the 2013 Pesticide Data Program (PDP) Annual Summary shows the overall pesticide chemical residues found on the foods tested are at levels below the tolerances established by the Environmental Protection Agency … Read More
Comments Needed on EPA Neonic Report
Farmers and other stakeholders have only a few days left to comment on the EPA report about the “Benefits of Neonicotinoid Seed Treatments to Soybean Production” which finds little or no overall benefits. The comment period concludes on December 22. Dr. Becky Langer, Bayer CropScience Bee Care Program manager, says the EPA document came out of the presidential memorandum this … Read More
New Study Shows Value of Neonics
A new study shows just how valuable neonicotinoid insecticides are for farmers in North America. The research, commissioned by Bayer CropScience, Syngenta, Valent U.S.A. Corporation and others under the umbrella coalition called Growing Matters, documents the value of neonicotinoids to agriculture as well as residential and urban landscapes, and the significant implications if these products were no longer available. The … Read More
Pesticide Safety Education Program Reaches 50-Year Milestone
Scientists with the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) joined with the American Phytopathological Society (APS) and the Entomological Society of America (ESA) to recognize the 50-year anniversary of the national Land-Grant University Pesticide Safety Education Program. Although the program has evolved over the past 50 years, it remains the focal point for pesticide safety education throughout the United States. … Read More