SASKATOON — Agricultural chemicals today are stronger. But they are also safer.
While that may seem like a contradiction, to the scientists who invent these new pesticides, stronger translates to more active. And that’s good because more activity means you need less ingredient to do the same job.
“Pounds per acre have become grams per acre,” says Harvey Glick, director of research and development for Monsanto Canada Inc. in Winnipeg. “Dose rates have been cut way down but you get the same result. That’s the beauty of these new products.”
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Over the past 10 years, Glick has seen a change in researchers’ focus when they’re looking at compounds. No longer is the prime question whether the chemistries will control weeds. Now questions of long-term safety and environmental impact are asked right at the start. If a compound is too toxic, if it leaves residue in the soil, if it leaches, he said it’s put on the shelf. Even if it has the potential to be the next Roundup.
“That’s a drastic change in the process.”
The end result are pesticides that minimize exposure to those who are handling the product and to the fields and surrounding environment where they are applied.
Agricultural pesticides — herbicides to control weed growth, fungicides to control disease and insecticides to control pests — are more regulated than many of the things under your kitchen sink, Glick said.
Know the questions
As the manager of scientific and regulatory affairs for AgrEvo in Regina, Margaret Gadsby can cite some safety questions by heart.
Questions such as whether the compound has the potential to leach into groundwater, whether it will have an unintended effect on a species it isn’t targeted for (e.g. will an insecticide hurt rodents?) and the potential for long-term residual carryover in the soil.
“You don’t want to take away choices from farmers,” she said. “There should be the same number of options at the end of the season as at the beginning of the season.”
There is also a move away from pesticides that need to be activated by mechanical processes: “Fewer and fewer need tillage to work.”
The consumer hasn’t been forgotten. Regulatory tests also look for unsafe levels of residue in the part of the crop used for food or livestock consumption.
As well as asking better questions at the beginning of their research and paying attention to them all the way through development, chemical companies are doing practical things to make their wares safer.
Additives to farm chemicals — surfactants and solvents — have a lower toxicity, a lower flashpoint and a longer shelf life. Dry flowable formulations reduce packaging, make for easier cleanups in case of a spill and reduce or eliminate the applicator’s exposure to the chemical.
The industry is also doing a better job of educating users of their products. Glick said more colorful labels make them easier to read. Gadsby says distributors and farmers know a great deal more about the safety gear needed to apply these products than they used to. And toll-free numbers have made the industry more accessible for routine questions and during emergencies.
