Inventory and Review of Existing Agricultural Best Management Practices for Pesticides in the United States

Abstract

To reduce pesticide exposure to nontarget organisms in the United States (US), mitigations are being proposed a priori for regulatory compliance. Consequently, agricultural best management practices (BMPs) for pesticide runoff, proposed in the Environmental Protection Agency's Endangered Species Act (ESA) workplan [USEPA. ESA Workplan Update: Nontarget Species Mitigation for Registration Review and Other FIFRA Actions, 2022. https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-11/esaworkplan-update.pdf (accessed Feb, 2023)], were inventoried and their feasibility was evaluated. For mitigation "menus" to be successful, they must be comprehensive and include options for a variety of environmental conditions. Based on this inventory, the most adopted practices by landowners were soil cover and erosion control practices due to their widespread applicability to most cropland. In contrast, the least adopted practices were water management and vegetative buffer practices due to increased costs and land requirements. This work can support the refinement of the pesticide risk assessment process, including future mitigation options, and assist landowners in selecting the most feasible BMPs for their individual operation in compliance with the ESA.