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Ag groups welcome Appeals Court reversal of chlorpyrifos ban

Ag groups are applauding a circuit court ruling that vacates a rule restricting the use of a commonly used pesticide.

Minnesota Soybean Growers Association president Bob Worth tells Brownfield the 8^th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed the EPA’s ban on chlorpyrifos.

“There are other products, but they just don’t work nearly as good as this. So this is really good news for us as farmers.”

American Farm Bureau president Zippy Duvall says the decision sends a message to EPA that it must use sound science when drafting rules.

Worth says he scrambled during the growing season to find an alternative product to control soybean aphids.

“It was very difficult to find one that worked. It did work, but was it as good? No. So that’s another reason that we are excited about having this product back.”

But Worth says he is concerned about chlorpyrifos being available for the 2024 growing season because manufacturers were told to stop making the pesticide.

“It might be available legally for 2024, but are we going to be able to physically have it available for us? That’s going to be a big challenge.”

American Sugarbeet Growers Association president Nate Hultgren says growers experienced much higher costs without chlorpyrifos last year, and the court ruling allows the industry to safely use the crop protection tool to help keep farmers economically viable.