Spring has sprung! Have you planned your 2023 field research yet?

Agriculture certainly doesn’t have an off-season, but the start of Spring is when things really turn up! Soil is thawing, snow and ice are melting, and water is moving. Growers are preparing soil for planting and checking equipment for maintenance, all in preparation for the next growing season. It seems like the industry as a whole takes to the field, and it’s time for the hands-on research to kick off.

Thawing soils and planting preparation means spring is the critical time to investigate soil health. The use of agricultural chemicals by growers makes Spring a good time to begin water monitoring efforts to characterize and address concerns of runoff. As winter comes to a close, sampling of soil and water becomes possible across a larger range of the landscape, making this an ideal time for:



• Monitoring studies – it’s the season to start stream sampling for monitoring residues of interest. While analytical facilities can process samples year-round, savvy scientists know that sampling and study planning happens in Spring.
• Regulatory field studies – terrestrial and aquatic dissipation studies are timed around soil and water collection availability and the typical timing of planting. Getting your required dissipation studies in the queue now will prevent submission headaches for you later on in the regulatory process.
• Specialized field research and trials – Spring is the time to turn up the dial on all field services, including:
• Investigating impacts of drift
• Volatilization studies
• Runoff studies

Our team has been busy getting our equipment field-ready, our trucks gassed-up and our antihistamines stocked. So if you’re a bit late getting to the starting line, reach out and we’ll make sure your seasonal field needs are met. 

Learn more >>

Waterborne's Field Studies team is used to mud. And rain. And snow. And more mud. And drought. Did we mention the mud? So when a recent trek to a client's site turned into a torrential downpour turned flood, they were ready, if a little dirtier for the outing. All in a day's work! Learn more >>

Supporting the mission and vision of CropLife America



Since 1933 (then under the name of the Agricultural Insecticide and Fungicide Association), CropLife America (CLA) has helped to ensure growers and consumers have the technologies they need to protect crops, communities, and ecosystems from the threat of pests, weeds, and diseases in an environmentally sound, safe, and sustainable way. Today, CLA focuses on regulatory integrity, sustainability, and innovative conversations – a mission that clearly overlaps with that of Waterborne Environmental. Our team has been a supporting, consulting member of CLA for years and our scientists and engineers will continue to support the research and advancement initiatives into the future.

To highlight our recent contributions, Waterborne Lead Ecotoxicologist, Jennifer Collins, has worked with a CLA subteam to research and publish an analysis of the sediment toxicity standard tests supporting US EPA registration. This work investigates the functional equivalency of the negative and solvent controls within the chronic study and considers the advantages of recommending fewer replicates in the study. This may seem like a highly technical and specific subject matter, but we’re really asking the question of how we conduct complex laboratory studies and to our methods make sense? Check out the article, now available online through the Journal of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.



Also, in mid-April, Waterborne's Nathan Snyder will join Collins in Washington D.C. for the 2023 CLA and RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment) Regulatory Conference. We’re looking forward to connecting with colleagues and brushing up on the latest advancements in various research areas, especially regional strategies for endangered species assessments and new approach methodologies for endocrine disruptions. We’ll be excited to report back on the conference in next month’s newsletter.