<h2>PAN ALERT: Stop the attack on health and the environment in the Farm Bill</h2>

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PAN ALERT: Stop the attack on health and the environment in the Farm Bill

The Farm Bill is still being negotiated, and Congressional Conferees have already agreed in part to some language that will tie the Secretary of Agriculture’s hands in addressing pesticide hazards and contamination of air, land and water, and coordinating conservation programs with the Organic Foods Production Act. This backward amendment in the final House version of the Farm Bill offered by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) would effectively disable USDA from partnering with other important programs in environmental, and public health protection – such as preventing USDA from banning the use of methyl bromide in a conservation program. There are just a few days left to STOP this travesty.

Take Action Today! Please let the U.S. Representatives and Senators on the House-Senate Farm Bill Conference Committee know that you want them to reject the Goodlatte pesticide provision and allow USDA to advance conservation practices as needed.

The Goodlatte provision, if included in the final Farm Bill, would take away the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to limit the use of pesticides in the management of conservation programs. For example, under the current Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), the Secretary of Agriculture may issue grants that restrict certain pesticides that have been shown to contaminate air and water in specific areas, helping farmers or land managers to put alternatives in place. In effect, the provision would unnecessarily tie the Secretary’s hands and limit opportunities to help solve problems constructively and in the interest of effective management techniques, and environmental and public health protection.

Please send your email now! The Congressional conferees are debating this issue now and intend to resolve it within the next several days – please send an email letter today.

Your email letter will go automatically to each of the Democrat and Republican Senators and Representatives from the Agriculture Committees of Congress who are negotiating the final Farm Bill language. Thank you!

May 24, 2013

Subject:

As a conferee to the House-Senate Farm Bill conference committee, I urge you to strongly oppose the inclusion of House Farm Bill provision (SEC. 11305), or any similar version, in the final Farm Bill, SEC. 11305 (the Goodlatte provision), that would prohibit USDA from exercising its authority to restrict specific pesticides in its conservation programs (e.g., EQIP, CSP, CRP, WHIP and others).

The Goodlatte provision, if included in the final Farm Bill, would take away the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to limit the use of pesticides in the management of conservation programs. The provision would make it nearly impossible for USDA to partner in conservation programs that address the impacts of specific pesticides or pesticide classes that may threaten water quality, pollinators, birds, wildlife or human health. These important programs are implemented under numerous statues, including Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Fish and Wildlife Act, Organic Foods Production Act, and Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.

For example, Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) program managers in Ohio helped farmers reduce atrazine on thousands of acres, lowering atrazine levels in the City of Columbus’ drinking water source and saving the City over $3 million in avoided treatment costs. If the Goodlatte pesticide amendment was accepted, this program could be found to discriminate against atrazine and be ruled impermissible.

The amendment would seriously threaten or eliminate current efforts to promote organic agriculture, which, by definition, prohibit certain classes of pesticides under the U.S. organic standards. Such examples are thriving EQIP programs such as Minnesota’s Organic Conservation Rotation program or Vermont’s Transition to Organic Production program.

I hope that Congress will increase USDA’s capacity to promote reduction in use of highly hazardous pesticides--fundamental to both ecological pest management programs and organic production methods--in reauthorizing the Farm Bill this year. I urge you to oppose the inclusion of SEC. 11305, or any similar provision in the final Farm Bill that would prohibit conservation program managers from making full use of these programs to help producers solve specific pesticide-related challenges they face.

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