I’m no stranger to the controversy that surrounds pesticide use. However, I’d love a chance to explain the benefits I see and my thoughts on the negative perceptions.
Did you know it takes an average of 11 years of intense research and data-sharing to secure approval for commercial pesticide use, and only one in 10,000 discoveries will make its way from the lab to the field? To put this into perspective, a discovery made today would likely not be available to me and other farmers to use until 2033. During this review process, federal agencies review hundreds of studies for each pesticide to determine impacts on unintended species and the environment, risks to human health, and more. The government is not just stamping everything that comes across their desk – far from it.
When you avoid pesticides, a lot more tillage – disrupting the soil to control for weeds and pests and to prepare for seeding – is required. The more tillage, the more erosion. There is also a carbon impact. When you till the soil, you release carbon into the atmosphere. If you follow the headlines, the reduction of carbon impact is crucial to mitigating the effects of climate change, improving public health, boosting the global economy, and maintaining biodiversity.
Pesticide application and use isn’t something anyone takes lightly.
