EPA to reconsider spray drift ban

Farm and Ranch May 17, 2010 The Environmental Protection Agency says it will reconsider its controversial proposal to ban any drifting of herbicide, pesticide or fungicide spray. American Farm Bureau Crop Protection Specialist Tyler Wegmeyer say it’s great news for farmers and ranchers.

Wegmeyer: “We are still sleeping maybe with one eye open but it looks like they are going back to the drawing board on this. We are going to keep our eyes on it but the proposal they originally came out with, looks as though they are not going to go through with it. So, that is good news.”

Wegmeyer says the original proposal was impossible and impractical.

Wegmeyer: “The original proposal that EPA put forward on spray drift was a zero tolerance. Essentially saying that if you sprayed any chemical that had an adverse effect that it would be a violation of the label.”

The EPA received over 30-thousand comments on that proposal, which Wegmeyer says carried a lot of weight.

Wegmeyer: “A lot of those comments of course came from farmers and ranchers about their displeasure about what EPA was proposing.”

Wegmeyer says EPA’s reconsideration of the proposal will likely be a lengthy process.

In its comments on the issue submitted to the EPA earlier this year the National Association of Wheat Growers stated it strictly opposed EPA’s proposal on spray drift. NAWG said the proposal had the potential to remove valuable cropland from production by restricting farmers’ use of crop protection products, resulting in higher levels of pest and disease and reduced yields.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Aginfo Net.