The North Dakota Grain Growers Association (NDGGA) applauded the recent decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to allow producers to use chloropyrifos as a risk mitigation tool in their operations.
“We see this as a win in the long battle against unnecessary federal regulation,” NDGGA President Ed Kessel said. “As we continue to educate the EPA on the need for pesticides, insecticides and rodenticides, we will continue to urge agency to engage stakeholders on their uses and how producers responsibly apply the products to their crops.”
Initially, agriculture groups brought a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency in 2022, in order to restore access to the pesticide as a tool to protect crops. Chloropyrifos is used primarily to protect sugarbeets, wheat, and other crops in North Dakota. The insecticide has been found to be of low risk to humans according to EPA scientists.
NDGGA hosts EPA officials in North Dakota every summer in an effort to educate on the everyday uses of these tools. The E-Tour takes them across North Dakota and shows them storage and application as well as encouraging questions with stakeholders.
“The federal rule-making process has gotten out of control,” Kessel added. “It has become one of the most detrimental regulations for producers and we have very little power over their implementation. NDGGA will continue to advocate for common sense labeling of products and will continue to education the EPA on how agriculture actually works.”