NCGA asks for delay in pesticide review meeting

A group of agriculture organizations, including the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), asked the Environmental Protection Agency to delay a meeting for the review of the pesticide chlorpyrifos. 

A letter sent to the EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy argued the meeting was an attempt by the EPA to “fundamentally alter its process for evaluating potential risk and regulation of pesticides.”

The NCGA worries the EPA is not basing its concerns and decisions in science.

“Effective pest management requires access to a variety of treatments, including chlorpyrifos,” NCGA President Chip Bowling said. “If we become too reliant on a single tool, it can start to lose its effectiveness, and that’s how resistance develops. Farmers need access to many crop protection tools to ensure all tools can remain effective.”