Agriculture

Updates to the Mitigation Menu Website - Options to Protect Nontarget Species from Pesticide Runoff

EPA updated its mitigation menu website to include all current measures to reduce exposure to nontarget species from pesticide runoff from agricultural uses. The menu provides growers with options for reducing runoff as part of future pesticide labels that implement EPA’s Final Herbicide Strategy from August 2024. Please see the news release for a list of updates implemented on the mitigation menu website.
Mitigation Menu
EPA Releases Rodenticide Strategy, Including Final Biological Evaluation on the Effects of 11 Rodenticides on Endangered Species and Associated Mitigation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing the final biological evaluation (BE), and associated response to comments, for 11 rodenticide active ingredients. The mitigation measures described in this final BE will also serve as the agency’s Rodenticide Strategy as outlined in EPA’s Endangered Species Act (ESA) Workplan. The final BE is available in the docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-05 67 on www.regulations.gov.
EPA Announces Funding Opportunities to Support Farmworker Communities

EPA is announcing three new funding opportunities to support pesticide safety education for farmworkers, training for health care providers to better address pesticide-related illness, and technical assistance to support managing these grants. For more information on each opportunities, please see the news release.
EPA Updates Process for Developing Maps to Protect Endangered Species

EPA is taking another step to reduce potential impacts to farmers from implementing endangered species protections while continuing to protect endangered species by publishing a process it will use to develop maps for protecting species designated as threatened or endangered (listed) by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and their designated critical habitats. These maps allow EPA to protect listed species from the use of pesticides through geographically specific mitigations. Read more about the new process on the page Process EPA Uses to Develop Core Maps for Pesticide Use Limitation Areas.

EPA is committed to a strong partnership with the agriculture community to assist in fulfilling our mission of protecting human health and the environment.

The Office of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OARA) serves as the primary liaison between rural and agricultural stakeholders and the EPA. OARA maintains close contact with EPA’s program offices and regions to forge practical, science-based solutions that protect the environment while ensuring a vibrant and productive agricultural system. Learn more about OARA and its leadership by visiting About the Office of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OARA).
Through the National Agriculture Center, EPA provides growers, livestock producers, other agribusinesses, and agricultural information/education providers with regulatory and non-regulatory agriculture-related information and other items of interest to the agriculture community from across EPA. Learn More by visiting About EPA's National Agriculture Center.