A new article in the Outdoors section of the Star Tribune Nearly all Minnesota deer exposed to pesticides linked to pollinator die-off reports "Minnesota soybean growers have been moving away from neonicotinoids in recent years" but there's a complete absence of any information about what corn growers are doing.
According to a USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service factsheet, Minnesota Ag News–2021 Crop Production, Minnesota farmers in 2021 planted for all purposes an estimated 8.40 million acres. Soybean planted acreage? 7.65 million acres.
We are using planted acres as a baseline, rather than harvested acres, because much of the use of neonicotinoids occurs in coated seeds.
What does this mean for Bambi and his family?
Some back story reading on the discovery of neo-nics in wild deer. Back in March 2019, we posted Study shows endocrine-disrupting imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid, messes up does and fawns.
Later that year, in October, we posted South Dakota News Watch: study shows neonics a danger to deer, pheasant study results soon and South Dakota study on neonicotinoids' effects on whitetails prompts MNDNR deer spleen request. And in March 2021: Preliminary results from pesticide study show widespread neonic exposure in wild MN dee.
Additional research was done. Fast forward to August 2022, and there's Dan Gunderson reporting for Minnesota Public Radio, Data show increasing insecticide levels in Minnesota deer.
Now the Star Tribune's Greg Stanley reports Nearly all Minnesota deer exposed to pesticides linked to pollinator die-off. He writes:
The pesticides linked to bee, butterfly and pollinator deaths across the nation are being found in the organs of far more of Minnesota's wild deer, and in higher concentrations, than previously thought.
State biologists found neonicotinoids in nearly all — 94% — of deer spleens collected from road kill and sent in by hunters last fall. Alarmingly, roughly two-thirds of those deer had higher concentrations of the chemicals than a threshold found to potentially lower fawn survival and cause bone and genital deformities in a captive deer study.
It's too early to tell if the pesticides are harming wild deer, causing fawn fatalities or affecting survival rates, scientists said. But they say it is a possibility and more research is needed. . . .
Neonicotinoids began to dominate the insecticide market in the early 2000s after they appeared safer for humans and mammals than previous insecticides. The chemicals, made of a synthetic nicotine, act as a neurotoxin on insects.
After growing evidence that neonicotinoids contributed to massive die-offs of honey bees and other pollinators, the European Union quickly banned them.
North America, however, embraced them. They're now used on 98% of the corn, soybean, wheat and cotton growing on the continent, according to the DNR. They're also used in lawn care and common household products such as flea and tick prevention collars for pets.
Not good. Strib readers do learn that soybean growers have backed off from the use of neo-nics, Stanley reports:
Minnesota soybean growers have been moving away from neonicotinoids in recent years, said Joe Smentek, executive director of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association.
Research out of the University of Minnesota showed that, in many cases, the chemicals weren't effective enough against soybean pests to be worth the cost.
"We had some companies where farmers had to buy seeds treated with neonics, but they stopped that at our insistence because farmers don't want to pay for something that they're not going to use," Smentek said.
That seems to be good news for pollinators and deer. We'd also encourage readers to help soybean farmers by eliminating buckthorn, an invasive species that's a winter haven for soybean aphids.
So where are the corn growers on neo-nics? Stanley doesn't venture into those vast fields of corn, so Bluestem visited Minnesota Corn Growers Association online assets to see what the group has to say about the spleen studies. Nothing.
On neonicotinoids? We found a couple of articles. There's the May 9, 2022 article, Growers reminded of treated-seed BMPs[Best Management Practices]. We learn here that there's a "where have all the flowers gone" to encourage pollinatorsto stay away from cornfields that are to be sprayed and such :
The BeSure! campaign encourages farmers to follow label directions, use advanced seed-flow lubricants that minimize dust, remove and properly dispose of treated seed and keep all treated seed out of commodity grain channels. Additionally, farmers are reminded to be aware of any honeybees and hives near fields before making an application and to communicate with neighboring beekeepers.
Farmers are also encouraged to eliminate flowering plants and weeds in and around fields prior to spraying. For foliar applications, ensure that sprays are directed away from any flowering plants, follow established buffer zones and calibrate equipment to minimize spray drift.
Neonicotinoid products help protect plants and increase crop yields, allowing farmers to meet society’s needs for corn without farming additional acres. The products are selective, effective, and safe for the environment when used correctly and according to label instructions.
To learn more about neonicotinoid and crop protection tool stewardship this growing season, visit growingmatters.org/besure. The website also contains multiple resources for seed stewardship, including seed-treatment guides from the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) and Growing Matters.
This is fine, as the image at the top of this post illustrates. Just read the label and whitetail deer will be a-okay. Be sure.
There are a few posts about opposing legislation that would guide neo-nic labels, but the language wasn't related to whitetail deer.
There's more in the story, including news that "deer taken in the thick woods of northern Minnesota were just as likely to have neonicotinoids in their systems as those taken among the vast corn and soybean fields of southern Minnesota." How does this stuff get to be everywhere?
Perhaps we all should be addressing the situation that South St. Paul state representative and Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee Chair raises:
"We know there are devastating impacts of neonicotinoids on the environment and wildlife," Hansen said. "But there has been a willful ignorance to ignore this. At some point policy makers need to take action."
We don't need a silent spring or an empty fall hunt.
Related posts:
- Preliminary results from pesticide study show widespread neonic exposure in wild MN dee.
- Study shows endocrine-disrupting imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid, messes up does and fawns.
- South Dakota News Watch: study shows neonics a danger to deer, pheasant study results soon
- South Dakota study on neonicotinoids' effects on whitetails prompts MNDNR deer spleen request
Image: A standard meme.
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