Every farmer, rancher and timber manager should be outraged at this. The bill is a solution in search of a problem. It does not blend with current state and federal law. It does not take into consideration the complicated factors related to pesticide applications, including urgency of action to control a pest or disease and weather, to name just a few.
So please help. This is URGENT and here's what we need:
ACTION STEP
: Contact the members of the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee today and ask them (politely) to not support SB 6529. It does nothing for human safety, but it would crush farmers' ability to provide a safe, abundant supply of locally grown food.
Here is some language that you can personalize for your own use in your emails to committee members:
Dear Senators:
SB 6529 would require farmers to provide a four BUSINESS day notification to the Department of Health before they could apply pesticides on their farm. There are times that any delay of application could cause the loss of an entire crop. It would make it nearly impossible to control mildew in cherries, hops, wine grapes, raspberries, blueberries and tulips, and to control diseases such as potato blight and wheat rust. These diseases can cause complete crop failure in a matter of hours.
Pesticide drift is already illegal in Washington and it rarely happens. The departments of Agriculture and Labor & Industries already regulate pesticides. This bill adds an unnecessary third regulatory agency.
It also creates an unnecessary monthly reporting requirement that would be difficult for farmers to comply with and it would be costly for the Department of Health to implement.
Please vote no on SB 6529 and protect your family farmers ability to grow the healthy food we all enjoy.
Committee members are:
