agriculture

February 27, 2025

Over-planting of GM corn costing farmers billions, study finds

By Douglas Main

A new study adds to evidence that farmers in the US corn belt have over-planted a type of genetically modified (GM) corn, leading to estimated losses of more than $1 billion as the pests the corn was designed to repel have grown resistant over time.

The authors of the paper, published Thursday in the journal Science, said their findings supported a move toward a “more diversified” seed supply.

Known as Bt corn because it contains up to five toxins produced by a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis, the specialty corn is designed to express proteins that make the plant toxic to certain pests, including corn rootworm. More than 85% of corn planted in the US is the Bt variety, to which various insect pests are becoming resistant.

After examining rootworm crop damage data from 10 states over the period 2005-2016, the researchers determined that many farmers planted more GM corn than was considered necessary to address pest problems. Bt seeds typically carry a significant price premium.

The scientists found that planting Bt corn in certain eastern Corn Belt states provided “only marginal yield protection benefits,” benefits that appear to often be eclipsed by the higher costs for GM seed versus non-GM seed.

February 17, 2025

“Out of time” – Short film documents tragic saga of pesticide-poisoned Nebraska town

For decades, Mead, Nebraska, was a peaceful rural town—until toxins generated by the area ethanol plant poisoned Mead’s land, water, and air. Farm to Fuel, a short documentary, builds on investigative reporting by The New Lede, co-published with The Guardian, which exposed how the plant’s reckless disposal of pesticide-laced waste created an environmental disaster. At the heart of the crisis are neonicotinoid pesticides, still widely used across the US despite mounting evidence of their harm.

TNL’s Alex Hinton traveled to Mead, Nebraska, where he met with farmer Stan Kaiser and his family, who shared their story of environmental devastation, previously reported by The New Lede. Hinton spoke with Dr. Judy Wu-Smart of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, whose groundbreaking research has been crucial in exposing the dangers of neonicotinoid pesticides, and former State Sen. Carol Blood, who has been leading the fight for stronger regulations to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.

Mead’s fight for justice is far from over. Despite the plant’s shutdown, its toxic legacy lingers, raising urgent questions about corporate negligence, environmental responsibility, and the safety of rural communities across America.

February 8, 2025

Farm country fight – Battle rages over proposed legal protections for pesticide makers

By Carey Gillam

Pesticide company efforts to push through laws that could block litigation against them is igniting battles in several US farm states and pitting some farm groups against each other.

Laws have been introduced in at least 8 states so far and drafts are circulating in more than 20 states, backed by a deluge of advertising supporting the measures.

The fight is particularly fierce now in Iowa, where opponents call the pesticide-backed proposed law the “Cancer Gag Act”, due to high levels of cancer in Iowa that many fear are linked to the state’s large agricultural use of pesticides. Iowa has the second-highest rate of new cancer cases in the United States and the fastest-growing rate.

Organizers against the Iowa bill are planning a rally at the state capitol on Monday after the state senate voted Feb. 5 to advance the measure. The bill would bar people from suing pesticide manufacturers for failing to warn them of health risks, as long as the product labels are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Opponents say the legislation will rob farmers and others who use pesticides from holding companies accountable in court if their pesticide products cause disease or injury.

“We’re very worried. Our farmers feel that if they have an injuries or illnesses due to their use of a pesticide they should have access to the courts,” said Aaron Lehman, an Iowa corn and soybean farmer who is president of the Iowa Farmers Union. “We just don’t think the playing field should be tilted.”

But backers of the legislation say they’re trying to ensure farmers don’t lose access to beneficial weed killers, insecticide and other chemicals that are commonly used in growing food. They maintain that tort lawyers exploit and entice sick people to bring lawsuits that are not backed by scientific evidence, and such actions should be limited.

Several large farm groups, including the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, are supporting the bill.

The actions in the states come alongside a simultaneous push for changes in federal law that would effectively preempt lawsuits brought by people claiming they developed cancers or other diseases due to their use of pesticides.

January 21, 2025

Close to 30 million Americans face limited water supplies, government report finds

By Carey Gillam

Nearly 30 million people are living in areas of the US with limited water supplies as the country faces growing concerns over both water availability and quality, according to a new assessment by government scientists.

The US Geological Survey (USGS), which is part of the Department of the Interior, issued what it said was a first-of-its-kind report last week, with USGS Director David Applegate warning of “increasing challenges to this vital resource.” The Jan. 16 report, based on data from 2010 to 2020, examines not only water supplies but also demand patterns and water quality. The report showed that most of the country had supplies that exceeded demand during the period examined, but worrisome trends were noted.

“Water availability is an issue everywhere in our country and beyond,” Lori Sprague, USGS national program manager for the water availability assessment, said in a webinar presenting the report. “It raises the question – do we have enough water to sustain our nation’s economy, ecosystems and drinking water supplies?”

Among the key findings from the new analysis was that people who are considered “socially vulnerable” have a higher risk of experiencing limited water supplies. Overall, about 27 million people lived in areas where the USGS found a “high degree of local water stress.” And a higher proportion of the people living in those areas were considered socially vulnerable compared with those living in areas of more local water availability, the USGS said.

The report also added to evidence of widespread pollution in waterways across the US Midwest and High Plains regions where worrisome levels of nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations – tied in large part to large animal agriculture operations – can pose a threat to human health.

January 16, 2025

Certified “naturally grown” offers alternative to the USDA organic label

By Harshawn Ratanpal, KBIA

Prairie du Rocher, Ill. – On a cold winter day in Illinois, three little pigs are resting in a three-sided shed. They have plenty of space to trot around, as they do when Jennifer Duensing approaches. Those footsteps mean it’s feeding time. They squeal impatiently, waiting for their usual diet of organic feed, which sometimes includes vegetables like squash grown right here on the farm.

The farm, Illinois Country Harvest, had been in Duensing’s family for generations when she took it over in 2015. She was new to farming, so there was a lot to learn about how to best manage the near-12 acres now under her purview. But one thing she definitely knew was that she wanted to manage the land, crops and animals without chemical inputs.

“We use absolutely zero chemicals, which means if we have pests, we don’t spray,” she said.

There are countless certifications she could have chosen and labels she could slap on her products to try and prove her farm has good practices. In the midst of rising consumer demand for organic foods, a nonprofit called “A Greener World” which “promotes practical, sustainable solutions in agriculture by supporting farmers and educating consumers” has a 15-page guide that attempts to clear up consumer confusion around labels that use terms like “natural,” “humane” and “organic.”

Certified Naturally Grown was a perfect fit for how she was already running her farm.

“Our certification process is really pretty simple, because we have zero chemical inputs,” she said. “There’s nothing we had to justify or have reasoning for, because we just do not use anything.”

January 14, 2025

PFAS in sludge spread on farmland poses health risks, EPA report says

By Shannon Kelleher and Carey Gillam

US regulators on Tuesday added to growing concerns about the long-standing practice of using sewage sludge to fertilize farmland, releasing a report warning that chemicals contaminating the sludge pose heightened human health risks for cancer and other illnesses.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said two types of hazardous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) widely found in sewage sludge, a byproduct of wastewater treatment, can contaminate the milk, eggs and meat that come from farm animals raised on agricultural land where the sludge has been applied. Those “exposure pathways” are among multiple ways in which people can be at risk, the EPA said.

The agency focused on perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), two well-studied types of PFAS chemicals linked to testicular and kidney cancer as well as liver problems. The EPA last spring designated PFOS and PFOA as hazardous substances under the so-called Superfund law and announced the first legally enforceable limits for the two chemicals and four other types of PFAS in drinking water.

The EPA said that though the majority of US food crops are not grown with the use of sewage sludge as a soil conditioner or fertilizer, because of the “extreme persistence” of PFOA and PFOS in soils, land where sewage sludge was applied years ago may still be contaminated.

The agency’s draft risk assessment, which was made publicly available Jan. 14, said that “under certain scenarios and conditions,” land-applying or disposing of sewage sludge containing 1 part per billion (ppb) or more of PFOA or PFOS “could result in human health risks exceeding the agency’s acceptable thresholds for cancer and noncancer effects.”

Keith Schenider Yakima long line of cattle

December 17, 2024

Regulators battle Oregon and Washington farmers over limits to farm pollution

By Keith Schneider

SUNNYSIDE, Washington – Waters from the snowpack of the Cascade Mountains support orchards, vineyards and dairies here in the Yakima Valley of eastern Washington State, boosting a flourishing farm economy and helping to stock store grocery shelves nationwide.

But as the waters flow, so do a host of dangerous farm pollutants, contaminating drinking water wells in the valley and through the adjacent Lower Umatilla Basin across the state line in Oregon.

Regulators and citizen groups have been pressing crop and livestock producers for years to document and rein in the pollution, tightening restrictions on some of the nation’s largest dairies, and bringing litigation against several seen out of compliance.

The actions put both Washington and Oregon among a growing number of US states leading a controversial national campaign to make agriculture more accountable for its mammoth wastes.

“There is a lot of new energy around this problem,” said Salini Sasidharan, assistant professor of groundwater management at Oregon State University. “A lot of investment is being made. There’s momentum here to make a real difference.”

But progress is slow and results are mixed. And farmers are fighting back, saying that they’re doing their best to balance environmental protection and business needs, and the crackdown on their business threatens not just their livelihoods, but also potentially the abundance of the country’s food supply.

December 4, 2024

Study indicates “persistent, damaging” effects of glyphosate herbicide exposure on brain health

By Carey Gillam

Exposure to a widely used weed killing chemical could be having “persistent, damaging effects” on brain health, according to a new study.

The study, published Wednesday in the Journal of Neuroinflammation, found that laboratory mice exposed to glyphosate herbicide developed significant brain inflammation, a condition associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The researchers, many who are associated with a neurodegenerative disease research center at Arizona State University (ASU), said the symptoms continued even long after exposure ended.

“This work is yet another step forward in understanding the impact of this widely used herbicide on the brain,” lead ASU researcher Ramon Velazquez said. “But more research is needed to determine the impact that glyphosate has on the brain since most Americans are exposed to this herbicide on a daily basis.” Velazquez noted that the work is particularly important given the increasing incidence of cognitive decline in the aging population, particularly in rural communities where glyphosate is used in farming.

Glyphosate is the most commonly used herbicide globally – made popular by Monsanto Co as the active ingredient in its Roundup brand, among others. It has been used so extensively by farmers, homeowners and industrial and municipal users for so long that it is considered ubiquitous – found in food, water and in human urine samples. A 2022 report by a unit of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said more than 80% of urine samples drawn from children and adults in a US health study contained glyphosate.

Several authors of the new paper were also part of a team that published a prior, related study that examined the impact of glyphosate when it infiltrates the brain.

December 2, 2024

EPA takes partial step to ban chlorpyrifos in a move called “unconscionable”

By Carey Gillam

The long and winding regulatory road for a pesticide known to be harmful to developing babies took another turn on Monday as the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it was planning to only partially ban the insecticide chlorpyrifos in farming.

Under pressure from powerful agricultural industry interests and ordered by a federal court to consider the factors raised by the farming groups in a legal petition, the EPA said it would continue to allow chlorpyrifos to be used by farmers growing 11 crops, including apples, asparagus, citrus, peaches, strawberries, wheat, soybeans and others, despite evidence that the pesticide is associated with “neurodevelopmental effects” that can impair the normal development of children. Other uses in farming would be banned, the agency said.

In the most recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pesticide residue monitoring report, chlorpyrifos was the 11th most frequently found pesticide in human food samples out of 209 different pesticides detected by FDA testing.

“EPA continues to prioritize the health of children,” Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in a statement. “This proposed rule is a critical step forward as we work to reduce chlorpyrifos in or on food and to better protect people, including infants and children, from exposure to chemicals that are harmful to human health.”

Public and environmental health advocates saw it differently, saying chlorpyrifos should not be allowed at all, given scientific research showing it has neurotoxic and endocrine disrupting effects, particularly on the developing children of pregnant women.

winifred-helton-harmon-4GIF-BcmZlM-unsplash

November 22, 2024

Court deals setback to efforts to regulate pesticide-coated seeds

By Carey Gillam

A federal court this week dealt a blow to calls for new regulations on pesticide-coated seeds used in farming, ruling that US regulators were not acting improperly in exempting the seeds from registration review.

The US District Court for the Northern District of California on Wednesday granted a summary judgment in favor of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and agrochemical industry lobbyist CropLife America, turning back arguments by the Center for Food Safety and other environmental advocates who have spent years warning of a range of “devastating effects” they say result from widespread use of the specialty seeds.

The concerns addressed in the case focus on seeds that are coated in insecticides before they are planted. Three specific types of insecticides that are part of a class of chemicals known as neonicotinoids present particular threats to beneficial birds and insects such as butterflies, and can contaminate the air, soil and water with toxins, according to critics.

The court case ruled on this week focused on three types of neonics – imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin.

“Neonicotinoid treated seeds are used on at least half of all croplands in the US but pose an extreme danger to birds, bees, and other pollinators,” the Center for Food Safety said in a statement issued Thursday following the ruling. “With the future of agriculture and entire food webs on the line, it is irresponsible and unlawful that these pesticides will continue to be exempted from registration.”

The European Union has banned the outdoor use of certain types of neonicotinoids, also called neonics, and the United Nations has said neonics are so hazardous that they should be “severely” restricted. But in the US, neonics remain widely used, typically as coatings on corn, cotton and soybean seeds, planted by farmers to protect crops from insects and disease.

Scientific research has shown they are contributing to a decline in important pollinators such as honeybees. Environmental advocates say numerous studies show neonics are not necessary.