Dayton cracks down on bee-killing pesticides

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http://www.twincities.com/2016/08/26/da ... llinators/


By Staff and wire reports
PUBLISHED: August 26, 2016 at 11:42 am | UPDATED: August 26, 2016 at 4:58 pm

Highlights

Some pesticides, such as neonicotinoids used by farmers and landscapers, are among the causes for honeybee population declines in Minnesota.
On Friday, Dayton issued an executive order saying such chemicals can't be used unless crops are actually threatened.
Pollinator advocates hailed the move, while reaction from ag interests has been mixed.


Bee-killing pesticides need to be justified to be used.

That’s Minnesota’s new standard set Friday by Gov. Mark Dayton, who cracked down on pollinator-harming pesticides, such as neonicotinoids, in an effort to help the state’s declining honeybee population.

Advocates said Dayton’s executive order positions Minnesota as a leader in protecting pollinating insects critical to the nation’s food supply, while response from farm interests was mixed.

In making the announcement at the Minnesota State Fair, the governor stressed the importance of pollinators to the state’s $90 billion agriculture sector.

The class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids, or “neonics,” is one of several factors that have been blamed for falling pollinator populations, along with parasites such as mites, diseases and poor nutrition. About one-third of the human diet comes from plants pollinated by insects, and honeybees do about 80 percent of that work.

“We want to work cooperatively with user groups,” Dayton said at a news conference. “We’re not trying to ban anybody’s practices or businesses, but there’s a lot more we can do, all of us, more sensibly, with better awareness, to protect the pollinators.”

Minnesota House Agriculture Finance Chairman Rod Hamilton, R-Mountain Lake, took issue with Dayton’s reference to cooperation.

“Once again, instead of collaborating and partnering with farmers and agriculture stakeholders, Governor Dayton has plowed ahead with his own plan and blindsided everyone in the ag community,” Hamilton said in a statement. “While we all share a common concern for the health of our pollinators, it is extremely troublesome that when it comes to issues of agriculture, the governor continues to shut farmers out of the process and not engage stakeholders on critical agriculture issues.”

Dayton’s order directs the state Department of Agriculture to require verification that any application of neonicotinoid pesticides is necessary because of imminent threats of significant crop losses. It also creates a task force to study issues impacting pollinators and to recommend long-term solutions. State government will set up an interagency team on pollinator protection.

The governor also ordered state agencies to lead by example on the 8 million acres of land they manage statewide. Those steps will include turning highway rights-of-way into better habitat, with more of the kinds of plants pollinators crave. Neonicotinoid-treated plants and pesticides will be prohibited in the 40-acre State Capitol complex, and pollinator-friendly plants will be included in the Capitol’s landscaping plan.

University of Minnesota bee expert Marla Spivak said the governor’s order “puts Minnesota miles ahead of all the other states in our nation. … Some may think that these actions go too far, but I honestly don’t know a farmer, a nursery operator, a grower, a pesticide applicator that wants to kill a bee or monarch while they’re controlling their crop pests.”

Bayer Crop Science, the top manufacturer of neonicotinoid pesticides, said it supports state efforts to protect pollinator health. Spokesman Jeff Donald pointed to a line in the state’s review that said, “When properly applied, the risks associated with neonicotinoid use in general — and seed treatments in particular — can be offset by their benefits.”

Kevin Paap, president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau, said every farm can find a place for pollinator-friendly plants such as milkweed and flowers, but farmers still need the flexibility to use modern technology.

Neonicotinoid insecticides are “very important,” to agriculture he said. Biotechnology now builds insect resistance into corn and other crops, sharply reducing the need for pesticides, but it doesn’t eliminate the need, he said.