Farm Progress America, September 20, 2024

The new herbicide strategy will impact how farmers spray on their farms.

The strategy sets the stage for new herbicide registrations and the review of existing ones.

This means farmers will need to adjust their practices and align them with the new registrations in an effort to reduce runoff or spray drift.

Some of the measures include the use of cover crops and other conservation measures. They are being highlighted as a way to reduce the impact of herbicides on the environment. It also introduces a mitigation menu and a calculator tool intended to help farmers decide what other measures they can use to meet the goals and adapt.

Farm groups say the problem is that the practices don't work everywhere for every farmer.

However, environmental groups say the protection the strategy provides for endangered species and waterways outweighs the impacts on farmers.

Farm Progress America is a daily look at key issues in agriculture. It is produced and presented by Mike Pearson, farm broadcaster and host of This Week in Agribusiness .