Drought and EPA Decisions in Spotlight at Beltwide

LUBBOCK, TX – The 2021 Beltwide Cotton Conference kicked off Tuesday morning, albeit virtually, with the annual Consultants Conference General Session. The event, which was scheduled to be in-person in New Orleans, fell victim to the health protocols of the COVID-19 outbreak.

As 81 percent of Texas is currently enduring drought conditions, Eric Snodgrass, the Principal Atmospheric Scientist for Nutrien Ag Solutions, painted a grim picture comparing the current La Nina weather pattern to the start of the historic drought of 2011. Actually, since 2000, the longest duration of drought in Texas lasted 271 weeks beginning (from May 4, 2010, and ending on July 7, 2015) with the most intense period of drought occurring the week of October 4, 2011, when exceptional (D4) conditions affected 88 percent the state.

Michael L. Goodis with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, DC provided an update on EPA’s Pesticide Program Activities and explained to the online audience the agency’s plans to issue proposed and final decisions in the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY 22). Goodis spoke about was having a better understanding of how agriculture uses chemicals and the importance of how EPA issues labels. He also said the industry can expect an interim decision later in 21 on paraquat “because of the concerns of misuse of the chemical regarding potential human exposure.”

“We did take separate efforts to limit the potential for those kinds of accidental exposures to individuals,” Goodis explained pointing to potential changes to the label on specialized training.

The online event continues through Thursday.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)