The Sustainable Pest Management Roadmap establishes “big picture goals” for 2050. There are also several benchmark objectives along the path toward transitioning away from certain pesticides and management approaches. Director of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, Julie Henderson explained that there are goals set for 2025 and others set for 2030. Similar to the development of the overall Roadmap, the plans for implementation will rely heavily on open communication. Henderson said the entire effort to move away from high-risk pesticides toward the adoption of more sustainable pest control practices hinges on cooperation.
“The very immediate next steps are for us at the Department working together with CalEPA and CDFA to develop a plan for implementation that is informed by the outreach that we’re engaged in, including the public comment that we received at the beginning of the year,” Henderson explained. “Part of that will lay out the next steps in a bit more detail and also identify needs for funding.”
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Brian German
Ag News Director / AgNet West