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Pollinator Protection

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2013 Summit on Reducing Exposure to Dust from Treated Seed

What is Seed Treatment?

The Federal Seed Act defines a treated seed as any seed “given an application of a substance or subjected to a process designated to reduce, control, or repel disease organisms or other pests, which attack seeds or seedlings growing therefrom.”

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Overview of the Pollinator Summit

EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture facilitated a public meeting on March 5, 2013, with parties engaged in activities to reduce potential acute exposure of honey bees and pollinators to pesticides. EPA has been working aggressively to protect honey bees and other pollinators.

The Pollinator Summit was part of the agency’s ongoing collaboration with beekeepers, growers, pesticide manufacturers and federal and state agencies to manage pesticide risks to bees. The summit provided a forum for stakeholders to network and learn about current research, new technologies, best practices and other stewardship activities to protect bees from unintended pesticide exposure, especially dust in agricultural planting operations in which pesticide-coated seeds are used. 

Summit Presentations

    •  Corn Dust Research Consortium – Laurie Davies-Adams/ Pollinator Partnership and David Inouye, Ph.D./University of Maryland  
    •  Talc Replacement – Bill Hairston/Bayer CropScience 
    •  Equipment Manufacturers Response – International Standard Development – Nick Tindall/Association of  Equipment Manufacturers 
    • Formulation Technology Innovation and Improvements – Dr. Palle Pedersen/Syngenta Seed Care Institute 
    • Seed Applied Additives, Coatings, including new polymer technologies – Mike McFatrich/Becker-Underwood 
    • The Overall Value of Seed Treatment – Raymond P. Knake
    • The Value of Seed Treatments to Growers – Jay Lynch/ Iowa Corn Grower
      • Preparation of Seed for Treatment – Warren Richardson – DuPont Pioneer 
      • Commercial & Downstream seed treatment application processes – Lynell Boyd/ Monsanto 
    • Joint CLA/ASTA Seed Treatment Stewardship Guide document – Lisa Nichols/ASTA 
    • Mitigation of Bee Exposure to Pesticides Inside and Outside of the Hive – Jeff Pettis/USDA-ARS
    • Beekeeping Industry Perspective – Bret Adee/Commercial Beekeeper
    • Education, Communication, and Outreach Initiatives – Wayne Buhler/ NC State University