Agriculture groups are applauding a ruling from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals that upholds sound science by throwing out the Environmental Protection Agency’s rule that essentially banned the use of chlorpyrifos, a product farmers use to protect their crops from insects and other pests.
The decision, in which the court found EPA disregarded its own scientists’ findings by ending numerous uses of chlorpyrifos they determined were safe, vacates the rule and restores agricultural uses of the tool.
Crops affected include Michigan tart cherries, soybeans and sugarbeets, as well as alfalfa, apple, asparagus, citrus, cotton, peach, strawberry, and spring and winter wheat.
“A partial ban was a real alternative for the EPA,” the appeals court said. “It could have cancelled some registrations and retained others that satisfied the statutory safety margin.”
American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall applauded the court’s recognition that EPA failed to follow its own standards when it took an important crop protection tool away from farmers.
“Growing safe and nutritious food for families across America is the top priority of farmers, and science tells us this tool is safe. Today’s decision sends a message to EPA that it must use sound science when drafting rules,” Duvall said.
According to Cherry Marketing Institute (CMI) Crop Management Specialist Chris Bardenhagen, chlorpyrifos is the only effective tool for fighting borer pests in cherry orchards, which build up in the trunks and can kill a tree over a short number of years.
“EPA had previously determined use of this essential product on our trees and the growers’ application methods are safe,” Bardenhagen added. “This court decision simply ensures EPA will follow its own determination before greater tree loss problems occur.”
AFBF and CMI were among 21 different agricultural groups to file the lawsuit against EPA in February 2022 seeking to restore agricultural use of chlorpyrifos to protect crops. They argued that EPA’s own records and agency career scientists had found at least 11 high-benefit, low-risk agricultural uses of chlorpyrifos that could be maintained safely.
Growers are eager to have uses of chlorpyrifos restored for the 2024 growing season, according to Michigan Farm Bureau National Legislative Counsel John Kran.
“Many producers suffered with the loss of chlorpyrifos during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, with many needing to spray more pesticides to control an increasing number of pests,” Kran said. “Michigan cherry growers lost the only effective tool they had to protect their trees, while other crops suffered yield losses and increased production costs.”
Sugarbeet growers, for example, experienced much higher costs fighting pests, said Nate Hultgren, president of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association.
“They had to use multiple pesticides applied multiple times with inadequate effectiveness. This court’s ruling supports science-based decisions. It allows our industry to safely use this product to protect our fragile plants and keep our farmers economically viable,” said Hultgren.
American Soybean Association President Daryl Cates, called the ruling a big win for agriculture and science-based regulation.
“Federal agencies cannot be permitted to ignore their own science at the expense of America’s farmers,” Cates said. “This ruling will restore safe, effective uses of a tool needed by many growers to protect crops from damaging pests and help preserve an affordable food supply.”
While the court ruling was a win, Kran said the work isn’t done, noting the groups will be engaging with EPA during the chlorpyrifos registration review process to ensure critical and safe uses of the tool can be retained in the years to come.