The National Industrial Hemp Council and American Farm Bureau Federation is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to approve 10 submitted pesticide applications for hemp production. In comments to the agency – which is considering which pesticides will be approved for use on hemp – the groups said they also “fully support EPA’s stated position that public notification is unnecessary for ‘future pesticide registration applications that are similar to these applications and that are expected to be submitted with more regularity.’”
“It is our hope that EPA can similarly approve additional applications that hopefully will be presented to expand the range of approved pesticides and provide our members with lawful options for pest control.” – NIHC, AFBF, public comments to EPA, Sept. 23, 2019
The environmental agency has received applications from companies seeking approval to use their pesticide products on hemp from:
- Argo Logistic Systems (four products)
- Marrone Bio Innovations (two products)
- Hawthorne Hydroponics (four products)
The EPA indicated that the agency had called for comments as hemp applications “may be of significant interest to the public.” The agency did not have to seek public comments since the products being considered are already legal for use on outdoor crops and “contain active ingredients for which EPA previously determined the residues will be safe under any reasonably foreseeable circumstances.”
In their comments, the hemp and farm groups called EPA’s approach to the issue “encouraging.”
“The NIHC therefore encourages EPA to approve all ten applications to add hemp uses to the label promptly,” the groups said in their remarks. “It is essential to the industry that key crop protection tools for hemp production are in place for the 2020 growing season and beyond.”
The groups said they expect the industry to experience “billion-dollar growth … over the next few years” which would “lead to a demand for effective pesticides.”
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