As pressure from environmental activists and federal court decisions has led the Biden administration toward more concrete endangered species protections within its pesticide policies, USDA and EPA administration leaders held a meeting attended by national agricultural and pesticide-user groups to hear their thoughts and concerns. NAAA took part in the May meeting, which was led by the following Biden administration environmental appointees:

• Robert Bonnie, USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation.
  
• Jake Li, EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pesticide Programs, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
  
• Rod Snyder, EPA Senior Advisor for Agriculture to the Administrator.

One administration pesticide policy dealing with endangered species protections is requiring filter strips between cropland and endangered species habitat. Pesticide stakeholders raised concerns about the amount of land this could potentially remove from production and the astronomical costs associated with neutralizing such land. NAAA CEO Andrew Moore (pictured at right) stated to the administration officials that the label is the law and applicators must ensure that they follow the label; however, it is nearly impossible for a farmer leasing from a landowner, or a commercial applicator to know and ensure that a filter strip is in place.

Moore also emphasized to administration officials that any imposed buffer zones should be wind directional since the law of physics prevents drift from traveling upwind, and commercial applicators, such as aerial applicators, have on-board meteorological equipment that can read wind direction in real time to avoid applying when air movement is moving downwind to a sensitive area.

NAAA will continue to keep the membership aware of these federal pesticide policies.