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EPA’s herbicide action plan to be finalized early 2024

The Environmental Protection Agency’s ag advisor tells Brownfield a herbicide action plan will be finalized early next year to help the agency better comply with the Endangered Species Act.

Rod Snyder says the plan will include strategies only, not final agency actions.

“The label updates will happen as we go through registration review of herbicides over the next 15 years. This is going to be a long conversation. There will be public comment periods on every single pesticide as we go through the coming years through normal regulatory registration review.”

American Soybean Association board member and Arkansas farmer Brad Doyle says he’s concerned the process could limit options for farmers.

“Having a shorter list of options for controlling weeds would be detrimental to ag and speed up the process of shortening the shelf life of these products.”

Snyder tells Brownfield herbicides need to be legally defensible under the ESA. Brownfield interviewed Snyder and Doyle at the NAFB Convention in Kansas City.