It’s been less than a year that farmers have been under a new regulation for their herbicides. The EPA’s Herbicide Strategy dictates if, how, and when a farmer can use an herbicide on their farm.
Any time that a crop protection product gets reviewed or renewed, the EPA can determine if mitigation measures — conservation practices — need to happen on the farm in order for the grower to use it.
Mary Kay Thatcher leads federal government and industry relations for Syngenta. She updates us on the status of the Herbicide Strategy and what could happen to it under the Trump administration. First, she takes us back to where this new strategy originated. Thatcher reminds us that this type of rule was needed in order to avoid lawsuits.
Thatcher says that while the regulations are not “pro-farmer,” they are necessary in order to move herbicides/pesticides through the pipeline. It saves years of waiting for essential crop protection products.
She says the job of ag policy advocates during the Trump administration is to continue the strategy with more farmer-friendly measures. This includes more accurate maps of where endangered species are located and more options for “mitigation measures.”
Thatcher encourages growers to reach out to their trade associations, agribusiness partners, and/or Extension agents to educate themselves on what the Herbicide Strategy means for their farm. She says the regulations is about 700 pages long.
“It’s too complex, and farmers don’t have time to sit and read a reg and figure it out,” she says. “I think that their ag retailers, their crop protection sales reps, their ASA, Corn Growers, Farm Bureau… you’re going to find some people who are really good at the Extension service that are going to have classes on this for farmers.”
See a recent article on the Herbicide Strategy with Wisconsin farmer Kevin Malchine: https://www.midwestfarmreport.com/2024/09/21/what-does-epas-new-herbicide-strategy-mean-for-you/
