More On Neonicotinoids

Dr. Pete Nowak along with other researchers at AgInfomatics was recently tasked with finding the value of neonicotinoids. The ag and nursery industry has been using neonicotinoids for years but no one had ever looked at it from a value perspective. Dr. Nowak says a recent EPA report was not very thorough.

NOWAK: If you've seen the EPA report that came out here a couple of weeks ago now we've got a very different understanding of the value of neonicotinoids in soy beans. Their analysis was based on about 60 cases. Our analysis was based on over 400 cases. They only looked at a narrow economic model, we look at both what's called contingent valuation based on a survey of over 500 soy bean growers as well as an economic model.

The research was funded by Syngenta, Bayer and Valent and Nowak says regardless they did their due diligence.

NOWAK: I've got 10 PhD's that'll get very irritated if they're accused of being in the chemical industries pocket. If anybody reads the reports that come out there's things in there that are not complimentary and there's things in there that are complimentary. These ten scientists from different universities are not chemical company scientists. This was independent of the three companies that funded the study.

And Nowak says there are more than just one report to be released.

NOWAK: There's going to be a total of 15 reports; 13 mainline reports and 2 executive summaries. The executive summary for North American agriculture and the executive summary for the turf and ornamental industries.

That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.