Iowa Attorney General Bird and Nebraska Attorney General Hilgers Host Press Conference Announcing Petition to Support Farmers & Growers

DES MOINES-Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers today announced a petition calling on the Biden-Harris EPA to create a farming freedom rule to end misleading labels on glyphosate and stop California from dictating how Iowa farmers farm. The announcement was made at a press conference at Hansen-Mueller, a grain and feed merchandiser in Omaha. Speakers at the press conference also included:

• Sherry Vinton, Nebraska Director of Agriculture
• Kevin Ross, Iowa farmer and former President of the National Corn Growers Association
• Mark McHargue, President of Nebraska Farm Bureau

Iowa and Nebraska are leading agriculture states that rely on glyphosate to support farmers and grow crops. The two states are collectively home to more than 131,000 farms and ranches spanning across nearly 70 million acres. Last year alone, Iowa and Nebraska farmers produced more than 4.2 billion bushels of corn and 839 million bushels of soybeans. These farmers and crops add billions of dollars to the economy, feed the world, and create jobs for millions of people. Glyphosate also controls more than 300 types of weeds, allowing farmers to use fewer chemicals to increase crop yields and guard against soil erosion.

Meanwhile, California is relying on bad science to stamp packaging with misleading labels that falsely claim glyphosate causes cancer. The EPA has already concluded that glyphosate does not cause cancer. Allowing false glyphosate labels to continue hurts our nation's farmers, jeopardizes the future of countless other pesticides and fungicides, disrupts our nation's food supply, and threatens millions of agriculture jobs across the country.

"Farmers are the backbone of the Heartland," said Attorney General Bird. "I will not stand by as California ignores science, breaks the law, and dictates how Iowa farmers farm. Glyphosate helps our farmers control weeds and produce higher-yielding crops to feed our families. I am glad to partner with our friends in Nebraska in leading the charge to protect farming freedom from California's illegal mandates."

The States make the case that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act requires the Biden-Harris EPA to approve a pesticide's label before distribution. California cannot impose labeling mandates that conflict with the EPA.

Iowa and Nebraska are calling on the EPA to create a new rule that stops states like California from mandating false labels on glyphosate products.

Iowa co-led the petition for rulemaking with Nebraska. They were joined by Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, and South Dakota.

Read the full petition for rulemaking here.

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Alyssa Brouillet | Communications Director

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