Pair of bills take aim at banning neonicotinoid insecticides, paraquat herbicide

No one denies that agricultural pesticides and herbicides can be effective in keeping crop yields up, but two House members posit the cost of that benefit is too high a price to pay.

The price being paid is a terrible toll on human health, they say.

Rep. Brad Tabke (DFL-Shakopee) sponsors HF3965, which would ban paraquat that has been linked to causing Parkinson’s disease and require the Department of Agriculture to collect and dispose of paraquat pesticides through its waste pesticide collection program.

Rep. Kristi Pursell (DFL-Northfield) sponsors HF3704 to ban neonicotinoid insecticides, which cause neurological harm in humans and can devastate bees and other pollinators needed to pollinate many crops.

Both bills were held over Wednesday by the House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee for further consideration.

Banning paraquat

Rep. Brad Tabke

The sale of compounds containing paraquat dichloride would be banned beginning Jan. 1, 2027, and the agricultural application of it beginning Jan. 1, 2028.

The scientific link between paraquat and Parkinson’s disease is clear, Tabke said, and the chemical is not just hazardous to the farmers applying it, but also to those exposed to it when it drifts from the treated field. Studies have shown that people within a 500-meter range of a treated field double their chance of developing Parkinson’s disease.

There are plenty of alternatives to paraquat that “are significantly safer,” he said.

“There are other tools,” said Mark Kelm, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at age 38. “At some point we have to say the danger is too great.”

“I want Minnesota to be a place where the chemicals we use aren’t known carcinogens,” said Kelm, a policy advocate with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

[WATCH: Wednesday news conference on bipartisan push to combat Parkinson's disease]

But Rep. Steve Gander (R-East Grand Forks) said the science linking paraquat and Parkinson’s disease is not conclusive, and as such, he is wary of banning the herbicide.

He added there are some very specific soil, weather and tillage conditions where the chemical is extremely effective and therefore of great utility to farmers.

More than 70 countries, including China, the United Kingdom and all members of the European Union, have all banned paraquat due to its toxicity.

Tabke noted that it’s ironic that the only countries still manufacturing paraquat are the United Kingdom and China – and neither allow it to be used in their countries.

No neonicotinoid insecticides

Rep. Kristi Pursell

Neonicotinoid insecticides and certain seeds coated or treated with systemic insecticides would not quite be banned; however, procedures would be put in place for the Department of Agriculture to issue waivers or exemptions for their use.

“This is a bill that puts reasonable constraints on use of neonic pesticides,” Pursell said.

Neonicotinoids, often shortened to neonics, are neurotoxic insecticides that significantly impact pollinators like bees, butterflies, and even birds.

The danger to pollinators is real and their decline jeopardizes the entire food chain. They also have disastrous effects on human health, Pursell said.

Neonicotinoid insecticides pass easily from a pregnant person to the developing fetus, and prenatal exposure is associated with malformations of the heart and brain and cognitive impairment, according to written testimony from a coalition of 46 environmental groups.

Several farmers spoke in support of the bill, including David Legvold, who said seed sellers will tell you they are needed to ensure early germination.

Decades ago he began testing the effectiveness of neonics in increasing his soybean crop yields. “There was no difference in yield, there was no advantage, but I did spend several dollars more per acre to treat the seed with no return on investment.”

Testifiers from agricultural groups spoke against the bill.

Darin Johnson, president of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, said that neonic insecticides, due to their mechanism of action and their effectiveness when applied in the early spring, can actually reduce the overall use of pesticides by farmers.

“Less spray passes protecting young seedlings early reduces the need for additional applications later in the season,” he said.