By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist

Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the proposed interim decisions on additional restrictions for rodenticides.

EPA proposed classifying rodenticides as restricted use products, which would increase costs and burdensome requirements for farmers and ranchers. Under this classification, individuals applying the rodenticides must become a licensed certified applicator.

Rodenticides effected by the proposed interim decisions include brodifacoum, bromadiolone, bromethalin, chlorophacinone, cholecalciferol, difenacoum, difethialone, diphacinone, strychnine, warfarin and zinc phosphide.

These rodenticides allow effective management of rodents and have been successfully used by farmers and ranchers for decades, TFB said in comments submitted to the agency.

Rodents are ever-present nuisances on farms and ranches in Texas and across the country. Without the proper tools to manage rodent populations, the pests often infiltrate barns and storage facilities, damaging harvested commodities, products, animal feed and other input supplies.

Rodents also are known carriers of diseases and pathogens easily transmissible to livestock and humans.

That’s why effective rodent management is important to farmers, ranchers and consumers. It allows the food supply to be safe, affordable and reliable, the state’s largest general farm and ranch organization said.

“We urge you to reconsider the transition to Restricted Use Products for the pesticides under review,” Tracy Tomascik, TFB associate director of Commodity and Regulatory Activities, said in the written comments. “They will add additional costs that will not be offset by any advance in production or improvement in food safety. It will only make it more difficult for the application of products that have long been part of an integrated pest management plan.”

As part of the rule proposal, farmers and ranchers would be required to locate and dispose of mice carcasses. Farm Bureau noted this is an unreasonable proposal.

“The average farm in the United States is 445 acres. Locating all dead rodents on the average size farm is not possible, especially since most rodents will die underground. We ask you to consider how this could be implemented and promptly remove this part of the proposal,” Tomascik said.

TFB encourages EPA to consider the issues with the proposal and collaborate with the agricultural industry for future pesticide registrations.

“This proposed interim decision and guidance proposal will do nothing more than raise input and regulatory costs for farmers and ranchers while increasing risks to food safety and animal health,” Tomascik said. “Texas Farm Bureau urges EPA to reconsider the practical implications of the proposals and rescind the restricted use product classification.”

American Farm Bureau Federation also submitted comments requesting EPA to reconsider the proposed restricted use product classification for all rodenticides.