The comment period for the new Draft Herbicide Strategy from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) closed on Sunday, October 22. We appreciate everyone who was willing to join the cause and push back against the EPA’s unreasonable proposed rules. Nebraska Farm Bureau (NEFB) submitted an official comment, reminding the EPA that Nebraska is a primary player in the agricultural economy of the United States, and thereby the world. The shift over to a points-based system that this rule would create would be a massive wound to agriculture, especially in Nebraska.
This rule would tighten restrictions on herbicide use by requiring a producer to score points: the amount required depending on the crop. Not only is there a general number of points required per crop, but there is also a higher point requirement in “Pesticide Use Limitation Areas (PULAs),” of which Nebraska is almost completely covered. These PULAs are based on very old, outdated research, and are overly broad targeting zones where a protected species or their habitat “may occur.” A drastic change like this should be based on current and thorough scientific research.
The EPA offers significantly too few options to gain the required points in order to use pesticides. Due to our natural conditions, and our farming methods, many farmers in Nebraska will be unable to meet the required points, preventing their use of herbicide at all under these new rules.
Source: nefb.org
Photo Credit: Nebraska Farm Bureau
Categories: Nebraska, Crops