Changes to ESA May Be Slow Rolling, but Can Be Consequential

U.S. agriculture is experiencing the most significant changes in how the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is administered since its creation more than 50 years ago. Following the result of a lawsuit - which aimed to highlight EPA's insufficient efforts to protect endangered species from pesticide applications - new pesticide labeling is being implemented to reflect these changes and protect listed species.

"NCGA has been in-tune with these changes since they began," says Becky Langer Curry, NCGA director of inputs & innovation. "We're ensuring growers' voices are heard throughout the process and have called for transparency and science-driven work, such as the species core maps, where it will impact growers the most."

Langer Curry notes that the pesticide label changes will be implemented on a rolling basis over the next 15 years. Each time a pesticide is up for registration or review, they will be subjected to the new process. Liberty Ultra is a product example with new ESA label language in place that will impact corn growers.

Where We Are Today

The EPA has been developing a series of ESA strategies that will allow them to consistently assess the impacts of products against large numbers of protected species. The herbicide, insecticide, fungicide and vulnerable species strategies will be most impactful to corn production. These strategies allow the EPA to use conservative estimates to protect listed species before a full consultation is completed with the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service. These conservative estimates allow protections to be in place while also allowing the products to remain available for grower use.

"The few labels that have been proposed or finalized with the new strategies give us an excellent view into the application of the strategies," adds Langer Curry. "Understanding the process, we're able to proactively provide information and nuance related to the various tools growers use on a regular basis."

Understanding the Field Mitigation Process

All ESA strategies rely on a three-step mitigation process: label mitigation, field mitigation and geographic mitigation. Growers need to understand and follow the mitigation process for each pesticide to ensure successful compliance with the ESA.

Label mitigation: This mitigation applies to all users and is implemented upon the pesticide's registration or review. It is important for growers to continue to check the labels and follow their instructions as those may change over time.

Field mitigation: This references grower specific conditions as it relates to run-off and erosion, as well as spray drift, for a specific pesticide. If a pesticide requires additional mitigations for these purposes, Growers and applicators will be directed to the EPA Mitigation Menu to select the most applicable mitigations. There are a number of runoff (e.g. cover crops and tillage practice) and spray drift (e.g., boom height and spray nozzle) mitigations that farmers may choose from. The menu is found at www.epa.gov/pesticides/mitigation-menu.

Geographic mitigation: Outside of individual fields, growers may have additional geographic restrictions or Pesticide Use Limitation Areas (PULAs). The EPA will rely on more than 1600 core maps to accurately refine current species locations to help create any necessary geographic restrictions. To date, ~10 core maps are final and ~197 are marked as interim - EPA has done quality assurance, but still waiting on finalization from Fish and Wildlife. Hundreds of species are checked out by organizations vested in the specific species and many others are available for checkout or will become available in the future. Growers are encouraged to visit USDA's Bulletin Live! Two up to six months prior to product use to review product-specific bulletins for PULAs.

"I've heard from numerous corn growers and their trusted advisors stating that these mitigations are achievable," says Langer Curry. "If they don't seem doable, a grower should really take a look at their operation and make some changes under the idea of continuous improvement."

Continued Work for the Corn Checkoff

Langer Curry's work is well-defined for her and the rest of NCGA. She has helped the corn checkoff prioritize the species impacting corn growers the most and is actively working on the core map design and implementation for three specific species, providing her expertise on the subjects to EPA. Even if a pest isn't prioritized by the national organization, Langer Curry is working closely with corn staff in individual states to navigate pests that may impact their growers in their state.

Becky Langer-Curry has a PhD in Pathobiology. Prior to joining NCGA as Director of Inputs & Innovation, she spent nearly 15 years in regulatory affairs at Bayer with work covering bee health, biosafety, state pesticide regulation and biodiversity.