USEPA’s Addition of Mitigation Measures Adds Complexities to Pesticide Use

In January 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) began implementing changes to registration of new and review of existing pesticides in response to legal challenges and resource constraints. One significant change was the introduction of a menu of mitigation measures for pesticide applicators to choose from, which are designed to reduce potential exposure of Endangered Species Act (ESA)–listed species to pesticide runoff, erosion, and spray drift. The measures would be applied to pesticide product labels at the time of their registration and prior to USEPA compliance consultation.

These changes to pesticide regulation likely will have meaningful effects on farmers, many who will be surprised to learn that their existing operations and practices may soon be out of compliance. In Agricultural & Environmental Letters, researchers review these costs and challenges to inform conversations about the measures’ implications for farmers and agriculture. The cost to adopt and maintain mitigation measures depends on type, number, and combination of measures as well as crop production system, the researchers write.

Further discussion is needed around adopting and managing mitigation measures, how decision‐makers will adapt their production systems to address changing labels, the differences in production systems across the U.S., and the limitations and trade‐offs to adopting mitigation measures.