Published by Morning Ag Clips on April 28, 2022.
ALBANY — Farmers and environmental advocates are clashing over legislation that would restrict the use of pesticide-coated seeds that some studies suggest pose a threat to bees and songbirds.
Leaders of the New York Farm Bureau said Tuesday they are working the halls of the statehouse in a push to derail the measure, known as the Birds and Bees Protection Act, which has sponsors in both chambers of the Legislature.
At issue is the involvement of neonics, a class of insecticides that is absorbed into a plant and can remain in soil and groundwater after being applied.
Supporters of the bill say it would close a loophole resulting from the fact neonic-coated seeds are not considered by federal regulators to be a pesticide application. The New York bill would give the state Department of Environmental Conservation the authority to regulate pesticide-coated seeds.
But Brad Macauley, operator of Merrimac Farm in upstate Livingston County, said neonics, also known as neonicotinoids, are a “precision tool” that he uses sparingly to grow crops.
“We’ve gone to using neonicotinoids because it’s less than an ounce per acre, which is roughly a shot glass in a football field,” Macauley said at a news briefing on the Farm Bureau’s legislative priorities.
Macauley and other Farm Bureau leaders argued the use of neonics protects their crops from such pests as wireworm and seed corn maggots. Stripping farmers of neonics could also prompt them to use tillage practices that are less eco-friendly, they said.
“Our goal is to encourage New York State senators and Assembly members to let science be their guide when setting farm policy in this state,” Farm Bureau President David Fisher said. He said the neonics measure could have “detrimental impacts” on both the environment and consumer prices.
But Liz Moran, director of environmental policy for the New York Public Interest Research Group, said research has found there is enough active ingredient in one neonic-coated seed to kill 250,000 bees.
The proposed ban on the sale and distribution of treated corn, soybean and wheat seed would take effect January 1, 2024, with the bill stating the commercial seed marketplace would have time to stock up on untreated seed options.
Groups supporting the legislation include: Audubon New York, the Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Advocates of New York, Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York.
Responding to legislation that would shift the cost of recycling waste from local governments to businesses, the Farm Bureau leaders said they are urging lawmakers to study the potential consequences of the measure before advancing it.
This legislation is lacking in detail, specifically on the cost of what it will take to administer and run this huge new program,” Peter Saltonstall, co-owner of Treleaven Wines on the east side of Cayuga Lake, said.
The Business Council of New York is also battling the bill, dubbed the Extended Producer Responsibility Act.
The New York State Association of Counties is on the other side of the debate, contending the legislation will lead to greater efficiency in waste management by putting the onus for the cost on the producers of materials that end up in the trash.
The 2021 legislative session is slated to close in four weeks.
New York for Common Sense Pesticide Policy 