Spraying season has officially begun in Illinois agriculture, and this year, additional steps may be necessary to make an application due to a recent label change resulting from new Endangered Species Act (ESA) strategies. The ESA herbicide and insecticide strategies are being implemented more regularly, and it is up to applicators to notice these label changes and follow them to stay in compliance with the law. Below is what to look for and how to best ensure agricultural herbicide and insecticide applications comply with ESA requirements.
Pesticide labels
As agricultural-use pesticides undergo U.S. EPA reregistration review or new products enter the market, labels are updated to include new ESA compliance requirements to protect threatened or endangered species. Products that have the new language include, but are not limited to, glufosinate products from BASF (e.g., Liberty Ultra), dicamba products from BASF (e.g., Engenia), 2,4-D products from Corteva (e.g., Enlist One), and isocycloseram products from Bayer (e.g., Opello). It is important to check all labels for these new guidelines, as changes occur periodically and, even now, not all products in the categories above currently have ESA language.
To help understand if an application is subject to these new restrictions, it's helpful to know where to look. Using the new label for Liberty Ultra, there are two main locations under "Directions For Use" that will inform whether the new rules apply.
First, the label includes the heading "Mandatory Spray Drift Management," with a main focus on "Mandatory Spray Drift Mitigations." This is a lengthy section covering minimum setback requirements for applications, buffer-reduction options, and relevant definitions to help the applicator understand any confusing parts of the new language. While this section of the label is helpful, it isn't the most straightforward in providing a full understanding of what is allowed under ESA, and online tools (discussed later) may be more helpful in understanding and calculating setback restrictions.
Hint: Wherever we see the word "mitigations," as in "Mandatory Spray Drift Mitigations," that is a major clue that the product is subject to ESA requirements. The use of the word is new to labels and is closely associated with the ESA strategies or "mitigations".
In the second location, the ESA language is under the heading "Mandatory Runoff Mitigation." Here we find that applicators must "achieve a minimum of three points," and "access and search Bulletins Live! Two (BLT)." The mitigation point system has been implemented through ESA and requires applicators to achieve a specified number of mitigation points to apply that product in any given field. Additionally, the BLT website has become a mandatory extension of the label under ESA. It is required to determine, through BLT, whether an application can take place in a "Pesticide Use Limitation Area" (PULA), which can further regulate specific products and active ingredients based on location. If so, an applicator may be required to achieve additional mitigation points before performing the application. Currently, certain areas in Illinois are designated as PULAs, requiring users of specific dicamba products to achieve 3 additional points beyond what is stated on the label (PULAs and restrictions are subject to change and should be checked within 6 months of an application).
Online resources
Navigating the new ESA strategies to legally apply in agricultural fields can be overwhelming and difficult. To assist with understanding and implementing these regulations, the US EPA has developed the Spray Drift and Runoff Mitigation Calculator (Excel-based) and the Pesticide App for Label Mitigations (PALM) (web-based, mobile-friendly) to determine mitigation points and setback restrictions. Other independent resources include FESTF Lens, which provides information on ESA decisions regarding active ingredients and threatened or endangered species, and tracks active ingredient-specific mitigations. Additionally, AcreBlitz offers ESA mitigation practice examples, and an alternative to BLT and EPA mitigation calculators that produce detailed compliance reports for mitigation tracking.
If you are looking for more information on the new ESA strategies, check out our articles on the herbicide strategy, insecticide strategy, and online ESA tools, or visit the ESA mitigation menu website.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Schepis provides subject matter expertise and training in pesticide safety with an emphasis on entomology.