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A closer look at the EPA’s final insecticide strategy

The U.S. EPA says its included updates in the final Insecticide Strategy to make it easier for applicators and growers to comply with the Endangered Species Act.

“We see a lot of improvements here.”

Kyle Kunkler with the American Soybean Association says the improvements are across many different areas.

“Everything from adding additional mitigations to using more science and risk-based assessments for determining things like spray drift and as a result of using more science-based processes and reducing the distance of buffers farmers might have to make applications on.”

EPA says it will provide credit for any reduction in the proportion of a treated field for ground application and adds a Pesticide Use Limitation Area group for generalist species that reside in wetlands.

But Kunkler says it’s not a perfect strategy.

“There are things we’d love to see moving forward. For example: using better science-based processes for determining whether a species is at risk. Right now, the U.S. EPA uses a lot of very conservative assumptions.”

He says the U.S. EPA seems open to working with U.S. agriculture on this matter.

Other ag groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation and the International Fresh Produce Association say they are still evaluating the final strategy and urge the EPA to continue to refine and improve the plan.

Kunkler says the agency will reference the strategy as it considers future insecticide registrations.

The U.S. EPA has one more strategy to release for ESA compliance and the agency tells Brownfield they anticipate publishing a draft Fungicide Strategy for public comment in 2026.