WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than 300 groups, including many with agricultural ties, are calling on Congress to remind states to follow – but not impose additional – labeling and packaging requirements for pesticides that have already been mandated by the EPA.

“Failing to do so could hold disastrous consequences for our food security, the environment, public health, vital infrastructure, and other uses where pesticides provide important societal benefits,” the groups said in a Nov. 14 joint letter to U.S. congressional leaders.

Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, states are prohibited from imposing or continuing any requirements for pesticide labeling or packaging that are different (or additional) from those required by the federal government.

However, in recent years, states have sought to impose health claim label requirements that are contrary to federal findings, said Michael Dolch, Iowa Soybean Association director of public affairs.

“A state-by-state patchwork approach that contradicts the EPA’s own science-based process and findings has far-reaching implications that Congress should take seriously,” he said.

“Science-based crop protection tools are critical to the competitiveness and profitability of Iowa’s soybean farmers,” he added. “Conflicting state labels jeopardize both access and availability to these tools, and threaten agriculture’s role in protecting both the food supply and the environment.”

Besides most state farm groups, some the nation’s largest farm organizations backed the letter including  the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Soybean Association, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Pork Producers Association, and the National Association of Wheat Growers.

Brad Doyle, American Soybean Association president and a Weiner, Ark., soybean farmer, said, farmers and other pesticide users need predictable access to these tools to protect their crops, and maintain important conservation practices.

“Contradictory state labels that would create an unworkable patchwork risk disrupting access to pesticides, which would harm our food supply, and the ability to protect our environment,” he said.

The groups also told congressional leaders, “If left unchecked, some pests can inflict crop yield losses greater than 80 percent, destroy important infrastructure, harm public health through mosquito-borne disease or other outbreaks, among other harms.”

In addition,” the groups said, “pesticides are essential to maintaining and expanding vital conservation practices, such as cover crops or tillage reductions, which remove the equivalent of millions of cars from roadways annually, reduce soil erosion, and prevent nutrient loss to watersheds.”

The groups concluded, “The ability of farmers, land managers, and other users to produce an abundant food, feed, and fiber supply; combat public health threats; implement important conservation practices; and maintain vital transportation and utility infrastructure, will be significantly impaired.

“We strongly urge Congress to reaffirm that the EPA is the primary, federal authority under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act for making pesticide findings and decisions, and that states may regulate their use, but not impose additional labeling or packaging requirements,” the groups said.

“Congressional action on this important matter will ensure our nation’s farmers and other users have reliable access to these vital tools in the years to come.”