EPA tours Idaho

David Sparks Ph.D.

“This is our third year hosting the EPA Crop Tour here in Idaho,” said Samantha Parrott, Executive Director of the Snake River Sugar Beet Growers Association.

“So, every year we bring 5 to 8 staffers that work for the Environmental Protection Agency out to Western Idaho, and the purpose of the tour is to showcase Idaho agriculture. A lot of these staffers work in offices in DC and they're making regulatory decisions for our growers. And so we want to bring them out into the field so that they can interact with industry and learn about how things are done out here in the field.” said Parrott.

“The way that we operate in Idaho does not look the same as the way farmers operate in Maryland or in Georgia,” said Chanel Tewalt, Director of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture.

“And so until you see it first hand, you don't exactly understand what these tools mean and how they're deployed here, and the decision ultimately, it's about the decisions made in Washington, DC and making sure that they have applicability here. They make sense and they’re actually usable,” said Tewalt.

“So, we’re an interdisciplinary team of people throughout the Office of Pesticide programs,” said Garrett Jewett, EPA Senior Biologist Team Leader.

“And we're here talking to different stakeholders, people who are all kind of involved around Idaho agriculture to try to get a better idea of how production systems work here, how pesticides are utilized in particular. You know, all of us are part of the Office of Pesticide program, so that's particularly of interest to us,” said Jewett.

“We're also just, you know, getting an opportunity to see other parts of the country that are, you know, far away from where we are in Washington, DC. We don't often get a chance to get out. So it's good to hear first hand how people are using pesticides, how important these products are for them, you know discuss impacts of proposed regulation and being able to see all that stuff first hand is is really beneficial for us,” said Jewett.

“I think it's a great thing, a lot of these people haven't had any experience on an active working farm,” said Doug Gross of Gross Farms & Seed Company.

“I want them to see the experiences that we have, the problems, the good and the bad issues that we have in our farming operation,” said Gross.

“We like to come out periodically and see what's going on and talk to the farmers, talk to the growers, learn about some of the issues and see how they use pesticides, what some of the issues that they're dealing with are on the ground,” said Donna Kamarei, EPA Pesticide Re-Evaluation Team Leader.

“Because as we sit in our offices we don't really have that real world application and we don't know what some of the real issues are that they're dealing with every day. So we really like to come hear from them so we can learn and make better risk management decisions,” said Kamarei.

“The two big things that we want to talk about as an agency; so number one is the insecticide and herbicide strategy that EPA really frankly is wrestling with right now,” said Tewalt.

“And we've seen in the spring this year, some amendments made to that strategy to make it more common sense to make it more usable to look at buffers to other mitigation efforts, and that's a big deal. It's a big deal to our farmers. This strategy is going to be hard enough. We need some common sense solutions. So we're excited to see that, but really wanted to emphasize how that is going to be actually used on the ground. And then the second thing that we want to talk about is how we work together as as agencies, as Co regulators, how we look at water in our state. Water is our most precious commodity in Idaho. We got a chance to talk about invasive species issues important in the West, consistent labeling, making tools more user friendly for farmers ranchers,” said Tewalt.

“We're trying to get every ounce of production out of every acre of ground and every drop of water that we have,” said Gross. “And we think we are great environmentalists, I think I've displayed that to them. How our managers are so careful with what they do.”

“Honestly, I think some of the growers are, you know, hesitant to interact with EPA,” said Parrott. “I think they have kind of a negative opinion about EPA just because of what they hear in the news. But honestly, EPA is just such a great partner for us. They are just trying to do their job and ensure that the products that we use to grow our food for, you know, America and the world are safe. And so it's just been a great, mutually beneficial tour where we get to educate the staffers, but then they're also educating us about their role and what they do with EPA,” said Parrott.

“Our mission is always to protect human health and the environment, and we want to make sure that the farmers and the growers have their tools that they need and it's efficacious and it's working for them. But we also want to make sure that they're safe and they're protecting the land and preserving it for the future generations,” said Kamarei.

“We have national level databases that, you know, do a really good job of describing how pesticides are utilized on different crops in major sectors,” said Jewett. “But also there are some uses that are not well described in those databases, and there's obviously limitations.”

“I think you just learn so much more from talking to people and actually seeing them with their grapes for their wine or their potatoes pulling it out of the ground and hearing them talk. I think you connect differently than just an e-mail or a public comment,” said Kamarei.

“To meet first hand and to have a conversation, to sometimes share a laugh, to talk about a frustration together means that we have a different kind of touch point with these folks that when something comes up, they're more likely to call us or we know we and call them and sometimes that makes all the difference,” said Tewalt.

“And we're a resource for them too, if they have questions, something that comes up and says, well, I met Doug Gross in Wilder, Idaho, maybe I could ask him what he thinks,” said Gross.

“Our growers have loved participating in the EPA tour. It's a really great opportunity for them to showcase their farm and you know, our farmers are really passionate about what they do,” said Parrott.

“It's been a great experience. They’re interactive, they ask a lot of really good questions. If you're a good farmer, you feel good about your company I would encourage it wholeheartedly,” said Gross.

“Just getting that face to face time really helps kind of humanize all of us and realize that we have the same we have the same goal. We want to make sure that we're all healthy and able to enjoy whatever product, whatever crop they're growing,” said Kamarei.

“The Snake River Sugar Beet Growers association, we are the main host of this tour in partnership with Amalgamated Sugar company. But we had allied industry come together to support this tour, including Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, Idaho Potato Commission, the wine commission, the grain producers, lots of different partners, so it's not possible without all of the AG community coming together to make this tour possible and we're really happy to be hosting it for our third year,” said Parrott.