Thailand’s Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Grisada Boonrach is currently exploring the legal avenues for imposing an immediate ban on three toxic agrochemicals: paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos. Paraquat has been banned in the European Union since 2007, and is infamous for it’s toxicity to vital organs, including the liver, kidneys, heart and respiratory system. Glyphosate is… Read more »

A new series of how-to fact sheets, collectively called Stone Fruit IPM for Beginners, developed for new growers and scouts of stone fruit is now available online from Michigan State Extension. These materials are intended to educate new stone fruit growers in integrated pest management fundamentals. Click here to access Stone Fruit IPM for Beginners.

After receiving pushback from the manufacturers of three organophosphate insecticides, the EPA is reevaluating its process for determining the risk level of pesticides, an approach established in 2015. ” Traditionally, the agency has used the maximum allowed usages stated on the pesticide label. Pesticide manufacturers claim that approach is overly conservative. The EPA now proposes… Read more »

The North Central IPM Center’s newsletter, “The Central Issue” went out to subscribers this week. Topics include sudden oak death reports in Kansas and Indiana, the Midwest Grows Green Lawns and Land Forum, working group updates, and more. Read the newsletter here.

Growers and retailers will have access to Syngenta’s newest fungicide seed treatment, Vayantis, for next year’s season. It can be used on corn, soybeans, canola, oilseed rape and cereals. Read more on Greenbook

“Many pesticides that have been banned or are being phased out in the EU, Brazil and China, are still widely used in the USA, according to a study published in the open access journal Environmental Health.” “Study author Nathan Donley at the Center for Biological Diversity, USA said: “The USA is generally regarded as being… Read more »

The Environmental Protection Agency is pulling a dozen products containing neonicotinoids from the market. Research suggests the chemical is a danger to honeybees. The announcement was made this Monday that the registrations had been cancelled as part of a legal settlement. Read more on the Washington Post.

Two lawsuits, filed by ten Starbucks customers, an employee and two pest contractors, have been filed against Starbucks for exposing customers and workers to a potentially harmful pesticide. The suits allege that several Manhattan Starbucks locations frequently utilized strips that emit dichlorvos vapor in their stores to control fruit flies and roaches, despite the danger… Read more »

KCUR published an article today discussing the lack of farm worker pesticide exposure incident data in the midwest. “Harvest Public Media asked the departments of agriculture in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska how many worker-exposure incidents were reported between 2013 and 2017. Officials in Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado were able to answer.” Read… Read more »

Bayer on Monday was ordered by a Northern California jury to pay over $2 billion to an elderly couple who say they were diagnosed with cancer after using the company’s glyphosate-based pesticide Roundup. Bayer is planning on appealing the lawsuit and claims the court’s ruling contradicts the Environmental Protection Agency’s finding that there are “no… Read more »