The future of pesticides under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was a topic for a panel at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences Consultants Conference this week in New Orleans. The panel was composed of Leah Duzy and Ashlea Frank, Compliance Services International (CSI); Jack Royal, Royal’s Ag Consulting Company, Leary GA; and Rogers Leonard, Integrated Crop Consulting, St. Josesph, LA. “EPA …
Stakeholders React to EPA Biofuel Volume Proposal
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published its proposed rule to establish required Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes and percentage standards for 2023, 2024, and 2025, as well as to propose a series of important modifications to strengthen and expand the RFS program. Ethanol producers and corn farmers are generally pleased with the proposal, while soybean farmers and biodiesel/renewable diesel …
Syngenta Hopeful Science Will Prevail in Atrazine Proposal
The public comment period for proposed EPA revisions to rules and regulations regarding the use of atrazine ended October 7 but it will still be some time yet before a final decision is made that could ultimately impact 65 million acres of corn, sorghum, and sugarcane nationwide. “It’s going to have a significant impact on how we use atrazine going …
Syngenta’s Thatcher Provides Policy Perspective
Mary Kay Thatcher has been in policy “since the first Bush administration” when she left Iowa for Washington DC after college, so when she talks about policy, people in agriculture listen. After 30 years with the American Farm Bureau Federation and now Sr. Manager, Federal Government & Industry Relations at Syngenta for almost five years, most everyone knows Mary Kay …
Agri-Pulse Newsmakers: EPA Administrator Regan
The latest episode of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers is out and the big news maker this week is EPA Administrator Michael Regan. The Biden administration is approaching a key deadline to publish annual volume targets for biofuel blending. There’s also the ongoing effort to redefine the definition of a Water of the U.S. and looming concerns about the loss of crop protection …
Ethanol Report Reviews EPA Announcements
The ethanol industry got some long-awaited announcements from the Biden Administration this week on COVID aid from USDA and biofuel blending obligations from the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s a mixed bag of good news and bad news for ethanol producers and in this edition of The Ethanol Report we get the details from Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Geoff …
EPA Still Evaluating Dicamba Products
The Environmental Protection Agency continues to evaluate dicamba products, according to Administrator Michael Regan. At the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) annual meeting this week, Regan said they are still receiving and analyzing new incident information and are taking steps to better understand the nature and severity of any reports since the Trump administration approved the use …
EPA Administrator Pledges Transparency in WOTUS Rule
U.S. EPA Administrator Michael Regan spoke to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) hybrid annual meeting this morning and pledged to work with them on rewriting the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. “Normal farming, silviculture and ranching activities, as defined by the Clean Water Act, will not require a permit,” said Regan. “We are pledging …
EPA Chief Shares Climate Agenda
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan told the Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Policy Summit he is looking forward to working with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on the Biden Administration climate agenda. “I’m enthusiastic about the future of our partnership, identifying areas where we can be helpful as well as how we can work on advancing climate smart agriculture practices together,” …
Senators Question EPA Nominee on RFS and WOTUS
The Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule and the Renewable Fuel Standard were two topics Environmental Protection Agency nominee Michael Regan addressed during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) called WOTUS the “one that everyone ought to be concerned about because that’s the number one issue.” Regan, who …