Herbicide Application and the Endangered Species Act Update

By Dusty Sonnenberg, CCA, Field Leader, a project of the Ohio Soybean Council and Soybean Checkoff

Private and Commercial Pesticide applicators have the responsibility of ensuring that the chemicals they apply effectively reach the target, but do not have off-target movement. Chemical drift and other forms of off-target movement have been a recent focus of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as it conducts risk assessments and reviews products for registration and reregistration under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was established to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats.

Dr. Alyssa Essman is an assistant Professor and weed science extension specialist at The Ohio State University. She says that the EPA is updating herbicide labels under the requirements of the ESA as products go through the registration and reregistration process.

“The Endangered Species Act has been around for quite a while. In recent years, the EPA has come under fire for not meeting all the obligations outlined in the Endangered Species Act with respect to off-target movement of pesticides,” Essman said.… Continue reading