Ag Retailers’ Role in ESA Compliance: Unifying the Industry to Support Growers 

For all the complexities associated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2022 workplan to address its obligations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), there are just as many questions from the agriculture industry.

One thing is certain: While growers are tasked with more responsibilities, as well as potentially higher costs for compliance and a reduction of acres in production due to buffers, retailers are leaning into their role as trusted advisors.

“We have got to be part of the solution,” says Scott Addy, Vice President, Brand Technology for Wilbur-Ellis and Executive Board Member, Council of Producers and Distributors of Agrotechnology (CPDA),

As growers come to terms with the myriad changes the EPA is advancing, the first resource they’re going to turn to is the retailer, he says.

“There’s a big opportunity for the retailer to be part of the grower’s decision-making, from integrating the right tools and mitigation methods in their plan. We’re the ones who know how to do that. We have the products, and we have the systems.”

One of the difficulties with the EPA’s workplan and its multiple strategies is that each field must be analyzed and farmed to assure compliance. According to Addy, “There are so many questions that need to be answered field-by-field, that retailers must be prepared to help growers. This will require extensive training on the part of retailers.”

At the same time, it’s also an opportunity for retailers and industry associations to work together on developing training programs that will ultimately support growers. In other words, “training the trainers.”

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Ted McKinney, CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), agrees that it’s critical for associations to collaborate on designing and implementing training programs.

During the CPDA annual meeting in September 2024, McKinney noted that associations are already having discussions with one another over the impact of the EPA’s workplan. He suggests that associations, including NASDA, the CPDA, CropLife America, and the Agricultural Retailers Association, for example, maintain open communication to avoid overlap and duplication.

Adding TSPs to the Pipeline

Technical Service Providers (TSP) are also part of the solution. In May 2023, the bipartisan “Increased TSP Access Act” was introduced to address the shortage of TSPs.

The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) has championed the bill. Daren Coppock, President and CEO, states that, “As the trusted adviser to the farmer, ag retailers and their Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs) are heavily involved in on-farm conservation planning and implementation.

“This bill will help streamline the technical service provider (TSP) certification at NRCS and allow our members to leverage the programs and technical expertise of NRCS to make conservation programs available to more farmers and on more land than NRCS could support on its own.”

The bill is now being negotiated for inclusion in the next Farm Bill.

The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Terry Cosby said in January 2023 that his agency needed to hire between 3,000 and 4,000 employees over the next two years to implement USDA conservation programs and meet demand for technical assistance.

Although the USDA had authority to hire 1,500 new employees last year, it only retained 500.

DRAs and Drones: A Powerful Combo

Despite the complexities of the EPA’s final Herbicide Strategy, Professor Andrew Hewitt of The University of Queensland, a strategic advisor who is working with the CPDA on mitigation strategies related to EPA’s workplan, notes that a sensible first step is to choose the right adjuvant and nozzle, along with boom height, to minimize or eliminate buffers when making broadcast ground applications.

From improved spreading and sticking, to water conditioning and other attributes, growers are already using adjuvants to boost efficacy, explains Hewitt.

“Certainly, with glyphosate you can get better efficacy with a good adjuvant, including ammonium sulfate,” he adds.

During the comment period for the draft Insecticide Strategy, which closed on September 23, 2024, the CPDA submitted additional data to the EPA demonstrating that using drift reduction adjuvants (DRAs) and Medium, Coarse, or Very Coarse droplet size distribution all offered a 30% reduction in buffer, which combined with a high boom and relative humidity at 60% or more at time of application, would reach or exceed the threshold for a 100% reduction in buffer.

Likewise, a low boom with Fine to Medium-Coarse or Coarse droplet size distribution and relative humidity at 60% or more at the time of application would also meet the requirements for eliminating a buffer.

Hewitt accumulated significant data conducting wind tunnel studies for BASF’s Engenia, as well as for Enlist, XtendiMax, and Fexapan.

Under EPA regulations, every tank mix partner must be tested before it’s allowed in these product formulations. The testing requires measuring droplet size and calculating a buffer with the AGDISP model.

“If the buffer doesn’t increase, you’re approved, and there’s a huge data set there (that demonstrates that),” explains Hewitt.

“We looked at over 250 drift reduction adjuvants, including emulsion oils, polymers, and guar gums. Every data set started with a Coarse nozzle. For every 1% reduction in fines, you get a 1.25% reduction in buffer,” suggesting that if a Coarse nozzle can achieve a buffer reduction/elimination, then results with a Fine nozzle would be further enhanced as most adjuvants work better with a Fine nozzle.

John Blackford, Branded Technologies Portfolio Manager — Adjuvants, at Wilbur-Ellis, notes that while more growers are using adjuvants there is “some open space” for greater adoption, and that’s where retailers and trusted advisors can be impactful.

Wilbur-Ellis has compiled a large amount of data to support the efficacy of adjuvants, which is shared with its retail network and available for growers.

In addition, the company is using social media to reach the increasingly diverse grower community, including younger aged growers who may prefer social media engagement.

Blackford says he’s long been a proponent of drift reduction adjuvants (DRAs), which he adds “should be used in every tank, every time.”

When combined with drone technology, the value proposition of DRAs is accentuated.

Wilbur-Ellis does extensive testing with drones and adjuvants and mitigating spray drift, including comparisons in application rates between drones and ground rigs. Although a lot of drones use a rotary atomizer type of spray nozzle, some newer technology uses nozzles that are attached to a boom on the drone.

“This requires testing different DRAs to find what works best with a specific drone configuration,” says Blackford. “This isn’t a one-size-fits-all scenario. The equipment piece is very important.”

Wilbur-Ellis colleague Addy agreed that new technologies, including precision spraying technology along with DRAs and drones, are beneficial mitigation tools. Meanwhile, there are lingering questions that remain, he says.

For example, understanding the regulatory responsibilities and liabilities as a retailer, from applying product in mitigation areas to writing plans for the grower.

The EPA is providing resources to help the industry comply with the Herbicide Strategy and forthcoming strategies, notes Addy, such as the Flow Chart of Managerial Decisions. Additional documents and materials are available online at EPA.gov, including the Pesticides and Endangered Species Educational Resources Toolbox site.

 The Best Advice: Be Proactive

Scott Rawlins, Director of Governmental Relations at CPDA, says the best advice for any farm at this point is to start preparing and gathering information.

“The Herbicide Strategy is incredibly complex. Growers will have to conduct an acre-by-acre analysis of each field to understand their compliance obligations. They must consider a broad range of factors, including whether their fields are located in a Pesticide Use Limitation Area, the field slope, soil type, runoff potential, distance to critical habitat, the crop produced and other factors,” he says.

“For a 5,000-acre farm, this could mean a thorough and separate analysis of more than one hundred fields. Add in the restrictions that will be included in the forthcoming Insecticide Strategy and Fungicide Strategy, and you end up with a regulatory maze affecting most farmers.

“Small- and mid-sized farms will be impacted the most,” adds Rawlins.

“The mitigation measures identified in the Herbicide Strategy will be financially difficult for small farms to implement. This is particularly true for the permanent in-field mitigation measures like buffer strips, vegetative filter strips, contour farming, riparian areas, mulching, and water retention systems. These are all expensive to implement while taking land out of production, a double whammy that will disproportionately affect smaller farms.”

Moreover, two key issues have been overlooked thus far, says Rawlins.

“The first is how planting decisions are made. Farmers typically make planting decisions based on market conditions. Under these new regulations, planting decisions will sometimes come down to what crop can be planted on a specific piece of land with the fewest restrictions.

The second is the effect on integrated pest management systems. Instead of choosing products that best fit into an overall program, product selection will come down to products with the fewest restrictions.”

Meanwhile, the EPA pledged to update and modify their ESA strategies, including the Herbicide Strategy, as new information and data become available, says Rawlins.

Indeed, in October, the American Soybean Association expressed concern that the EPA imposed “unwarranted restrictions” on the final label for a new registration of glufosinate-P at the urging of environmental groups.

A director with the organization pointed out that, “Growers should be worried about the precedent this will set.”

• Download the full Special Report: The ABCs of ESA