A 2023 Summer Policy Summary: Pesticides & Soil

I met with Ecdysis’s 1000 Farms Initiative team during the final week of their 2023 tour–which they spent doing agroecological research at 20 farms in Vermont. The project monitors diversity of insects, birds, and plants, as well as soil health.  Award-winning scientist Jonathan Lundgren started Ecdysis Foundation as an independent research center in response to the USDA blocking his research on the effect of neonicotinoids on pollinators . Sign up your farm here to be part of the project in 2024.

I’ve also been representing Rural Vermont at meetings of the recently-formed Protect Our Pollinators VT caucus, making sure that the petition and logo reflect our view that farmers need support to transition off of insecticides, (and that the pressure should go on industry to offer untreated seeds, not on farmers who currently have very few options available) as we work on policies that would phase out the use of neonic treated seeds and other pesticides.   New York is in the process of passing legislation that could inform Vermont policy going forward. The kickoff event featured Charlie Nardozzi and Samantha Alger on August 31 in Burlington. August 31 was also Abe Collins’ and the Land Care Cooperative’s Vermont Ripsower event at a farm in Rochester which both Caroline Gordon and I attended. The Land Care Cooperative includes a project of planting enormous corridors of diverse pollinator friendly plants. 

Last but not least, I recommend this recent article by Rob Lewis on my favorite teaching topic: the Biotic Climate. Land and biosystems are not helpless victims of climate change, rather they are active participants in how temperature and weather are regulated on Earth.  Greenhouse gasses are only one leg of what’s causing climate change but it’s the only leg that still gets funding. This article is a fascinating history of how the land-use leg was amputated in policy and academia, and why we need to bring it front and center in our understanding and approach.  My upcoming course starts September 18th and will address this in detail.  

Written By: Didi Pershouse
Rural Vermont Policy Team
Summer 2023