October 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the Draft Insecticide Strategy (“Insecticide Strategy”) which outlines the changes that growers may need to implement on their farms to be in compliance with insecticide labels.

In 2022, the EPA was found in violation of their consultation process regarding the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Federal Fungicide, Insecticide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Due to this, the EPA will be releasing a series of frameworks to address registration and labeling of herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, and fungicides. The Insecticide Strategy is the second of four strategy frameworks aimed to minimize ecological impacts on federally endangered and threatened (listed) species and their critical habitats.

Similar to the Final Herbicide Strategy, the Insecticide Strategy proposes the mitigation or efficacy points that a grower may need to gain through a “mitigation menu” of approved practices to be in compliance with an insecticide label. Furthermore, the Strategy identifies Pesticide Use Limitation Areas (PULAs), where growers will be subject to earn an even greater number of points due to their potential increased vulnerability to impacting endangered and threatened species through run-off, erosion, and spray drift.

A copy of Florida Farm Bureau Federation’s comments to the EPA regarding the Draft Insecticide Strategy can be found here. Please contact Maddie Campbell with any questions or concerns.