Colorado Bill Would Curb Uses of Crop Seeds Coated With Harmful Pesticides
In a move that reflects mounting US opposition to a class of harmful insecticides linked to environmental and human health risks, Colorado lawmakers last week introduced a bill to curb the use of neonicotinoids.
The Strengthening Economic and Environmental Decisions (SEED) Act, or SB65, introduced to the state Senate on Jan. 28, would prohibit the use of crop seeds coated with neonicotinoids on farmland unless the buyer obtains a certificate from a government-approved verifier who can certify that the use of the treated seeds is “necessary and appropriate.”
If passed, the SEED Act would take effect Jan. 1, 2029, and would make Colorado the latest state to place restrictions on neonicotinoids, also called neonics. New York and Vermont, as well as the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Québec, already have similar restrictions in place that only allow the use of treated seeds when they are considered necessary to control pest problems.
Rather than spraying neonics on farm fields as farmers commonly apply other types of pesticides, neonics are commonly coated on seeds before they are planted. Such treated seeds are planted across over 150 million acres of US croplands each year, including corn, soybeans and wheat. Almost all of the tens of millions of corn seeds planted in Colorado each year are treated with neonics.