An Ohio corn farmer told officials from a federal interagency working group that the Environmental Protection Agency should look to farmers as it works to mitigate pesticide issues.
“We respect the EPA’s responsibility to protect the environment, including endangered species,” said Patty Mann, a farmer from Jackson Center, Ohio. “We ask that the agency work closely with growers, the ones who often know the land the best, in developing and enacting mitigation measures.”
Mann’s remarks came before the IWG, which is made up of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and the Interior, and the EPA. Mann cautioned the officials against making a one-size-fits-all approach to the mitigation efforts.
“The EPA must understand the real-world, on-farm implications of mitigation measures,” she says. “Every farm and landscape has its differences, so you must give some flexibility for the success of both farmers and the at-risk species.”
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