Coalition pushes for regulation of pesticide-coated seed

Excerpt from AGATE E-Magazine, Nov. 2024: Our coalition colleague, “Lori Cox lives on an organic practices farm in Carver County, on the western end of the seven-county region, a place slowly transitioning from farms to suburbs. For several years she grew vegetables, herbs and fruits for local markets. Following an injury, she now leases her farm fields to new and emerging sustainable food farmers.

Cox is so concerned about the health of the air, soils, and water on her land and across Minnesota that she has joined several groups to petition the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) to make rules about pesticide-coated seeds. In her area, as throughout Minnesota, almost all corn seeds and nearly half of soybean seeds are coated with pesticides prior to planting. These figures come from the MDA, but the agency wrongly takes the position that it doesn’t have the authority to regulate them.

The use of treated seeds is part of what advocates describe as “precision agriculture,” saying treating the seeds allows lower usage of pesticides later in the growing season. Cox says this description is misleading. Tractors operate at fairly high speeds, and equipment spews the pesticide-coated seeds onto the ground. She has seen dust drifting from the machinery. Seed companies treat seeds with bright colors to identify them as containing pesticides. “Drift can happen with a vaporized droplet, with dust, with any conditions,” she says. “The claim of ‘precision agriculture’ is really a marketing ploy to try to make it look like there is some exact practice that prevents any pollution from occurring.”    Read more here . . . . . .

You can follow the coalition to regulate pesticide-coated seed on this website.