Industry representatives met last Friday with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C. to discuss its implementation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. 136 et. seq.) and its impact on agricultural producers.

Under FIFRA, EPA is charged with regulating the distribution, sale and use of pesticides. No pesticide may be distributed or sold until EPA verifies that using the pesticide according to prescribed conditions “will not generally cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment.”

American Soybean Association (ASA) CEO Steve Censky, who attended the meeting, said the farmer groups emphasized a desire to engage with EPA in a constructive way. He added they also underscored the need for agency decisions to fully reflect FIFRA requirements, that decisions consider both benefits to growers and risks, that farmer groups and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) want to be fully consulted in the decision process and that EPA decisions affect the livelihoods of farmers – their competitiveness, ability to control pests and weeks, and ability to produce food for a growing world.

Specifically regarding FIFRA, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy stressed EPA’s desire to have a constructive dialogue with the industry groups and farmers, and noted that EPA does fully appreciate the need for farmers to have pest and weed control tools.

Click here to read the  industry letter regarding FIFRA sent to McCarthy in July.