CORNING, Iowa — With the USDA’s recent landmark decision to deregulate 2,4-D-resistant Enlist Duo soybeans, American Soybean Assoc. (ASA) President Ray Gaesser is now calling on the U.S. EPA to quickly finalize the label for the new low-volatility Enlist Duo herbicide he said can be utilized with these soybeans to control resistant and difficult-to-manage weeds. 

“America’s soybean farmers welcome today’s (Sept. 17) decision by the USDA to deregulate Enlist Duo,” said Gaesser, a Corning, Iowa, farmer. “As the problem of weed resistance spreads across the soybean-growing regions of the U.S., this solution presents another integral mode of action with which farmers can fight yield-robbing weeds.”

In addition, Gaesser is calling on foreign markets where U.S. soybeans are exported to “quickly review and approve these new biotech events so that they can be commercialized here in the United States without jeopardizing export markets and U.S. farmers can realize their benefit.”

“The USDA deserves a great deal of credit for recognizing delays in the biotech approvals process and working to address them,” he said. “Our attention now shifts to final EPA registration of the Enlist Duo herbicide, and to approvals in key soybean export markets. 

“For new tools like Enlist Duo to be implemented and realized,” he added, “we need to have approvals in key U.S. soy export markets since approximately 60 percent of the U.S. soy crop is exported.”

Because of the importance of export markets to U.S. soybean farmers, Gaesser said the ASA has had long-standing policy requiring technology providers to seek and obtain approvals in key U.S. soy export markets that have import approval processes before new biotech soybean traits are openly commercialized.

“The ASA works closely with technology companies, other members of the U.S. soy family and value chain and the U.S. Government to facilitate timely, science-based reviews of new biotech soybean traits, both domestically and abroad,” he said.

On Aug. 6, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a final and a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on several genetically-engineered (GE) products as part of its review to determine whether to deregulate them. 

That same day, the APHIS issued a final EIS as part of its review to determine whether to deregulate GE corn and soybean plants that are resistant to several herbicides, including Dow Chemical’s 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid). 

Under the Plant Protection Act (PPA) and APHIS’ regulations, the EPA is specifically required to evaluate whether GE crops are a plant pest to agricultural crops or other plants or plant products.

In January, the APHIS issued a draft EIS on the 2,4-D products that examined the regulatory alternatives, required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to identify the alternative that best meets the purpose and need for the EIS, known as the “preferred alternative.” 

Based on its plant pest risk assessment and under its authority through the PPA, the APHIS determined that GE corn and soybeans didn’t pose a plant pest risk to agricultural crops or other plants in the United States. As a result of that determination, the PPA directs the APHIS to seek deregulation of all three varieties in such cases as the agency’s “preferred alternative.”

The USDA said the final EIS affirmed the APHIS’ preferred alternative to fully deregulate these new GE crops, also consistent with the APHIS’ final plant pest risk assessment (PPRA), that found 2,4-D resistant corn and soybeans are “unlikely to pose a plant pest risk to agricultural crops or other plants in the United States.”

Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the EPA has authority over the review and approval of pesticidal substances and plant-incorporated protectants.

Last month, the EPA reviewed information submitted by Dow to assess the potential for environmental and human risks associated with its use. In June 2005, the EPA completed 2,4-D’s Reregistration Eligibility Decision that reassessed labeled uses to ensure they meet today’s more stringent standards, the USDA said.

On Sept. 17, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) condemned the USDA’s decision to fully deregulate Dow’s Enlist corn and soybeans, genetically-engineered to withstand repeated spraying of 2,4-D. 

Andrew Kimbrell, CFS executive director, said Dow developed 2,4-D resistant crops as a solution to glyphosate-resistant weeds generated by first-generation GE crops from Monsanto’s Roundup Ready. 

“This is not the solution to our superweed problem and will only spur the evolution of yet more herbicide-resistant weeds,” he said. “We need a new direction for our agricultural system, not increased reliance on chemicals.”

Kimbrell said the EPA has yet to approve the accompanying herbicide, which is a blend of 2,4-D and glyphosate: “2,4-D resistant crops pose a monumental threat to our nation’s agricultural, environmental and human health,” he said. “With this approval comes millions of more pounds of toxic herbicides dumped onto our land; it’s an unacceptable outcome. 

“The Center for Food Safety will pursue all available legal options to stop the commercialization of these dangerous crops,” he added.