U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler was in Mississippi on Monday where he announced a $2 million dollar initiative that encourages smart and sustainable pest control in agriculture. The initiative, which is an extension of EPA’s Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP), expects to award grantees up to $200,000 to implement sustainable pest management practices that align with the …
EPA Pesticide Program Update for Cotton
The 2021 virtual Beltwide Cotton Consultants Conference Tuesday included an update from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs on crop protection products important to cotton growers. Michael Goodis, Acting Deputy Director, provided information on a number of pesticides, including dicamba. In this excerpt from his presentation, Goodis explains the process that went into determining the final registration …
EPA Finalizes Pesticide AEZ Rules
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler visited another farm this week to make an agricultural announcement. At Overman Farms in Goldsboro, N.C., Wheeler announced finalized improvements to requirements for the pesticide application exclusion zone (AEZ), the area surrounding pesticide application equipment during outdoor production pesticide applications. EPA’s targeted changes improve the enforceability and workability of the AEZ requirements, decrease regulatory burdens for …
EPA Announces Dicamba Registration Decision
With a background of cotton ready for harvest, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced Tuesday the approval of new five-year registrations for two dicamba products and extending the registration of an additional dicamba product for use by cotton and soybean growers. All three registrations include new control measures to ensure these products can be used effectively while protecting …
EPA Administrator Wheeler Visits Ohio Farm
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler kicked off a swing through northeast Ohio Tuesday which included attending an Ohio Farm Bureau event on a dairy farm in Stark County where he highlighted EPA’s commitment to working with Ohio’s farmers on a number of environmental issues. During the event, Administrator Wheeler delivered remarks to a group of farmers highlighting President …
EPA Announces Interim Approval of Atrazine
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler joined farmers and ranchers at an outdoor round table in Missouri where he announced the interim decisions for the triazine herbicides atrazine, propazine and simazine. “The benefits of atrazine in agriculture are high,” said Wheeler. “If we were to lose that, it would cost the corn growers between 475 and 775 million dollars …
EPA and USDA Announce Next Gen Fertilizer Challenge
The Environmental Protection Agency has teamed up with USDA to advance agricultural sustainability with the Next Gen Fertilizer Challenges. The competition includes two challenges that seek proposals for new and existing fertilizer technologies to maintain or improve crop yields while reducing the impacts of fertilizers on the environment. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced …
EPA Issues Order on Dicamba Registrations
Late last night, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an order on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision on dicamba registrations regarding the sale, distribution, and use of existing stocks of the three affected dicamba products – XtendiMax with vapor grip technology, Engenia, and FeXapan. According to EPA, distribution or sale of the products is “generally prohibited except for …
Dicamba Decision Leaves Farmers in Limbo
This week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling that vacates current U.S. registrations of certain low-volatility dicamba products, such as Bayer’s XtendiMax and BASF’s Engenia, halting sales immediately. The court ruled EPA violated federal regulations when it extended approval of registration for the herbicide for another two years in October 2018. Bayer and BASF …
Ethanol Case Groups Disappointed in Appeal Extension
The four organizations involved in the case against the Environmental Protection Agency over granting of small refinery exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) are disappointed the Trump Administration has been granted more time to consider an appeal of the court decision siding with the plaintiffs. The petitioners in the case—the Renewable Fuels Association, National Corn Growers Association, American Coalition …