Statement from Corteva:
Corteva Agriscience has one of the largest and most diverse product pipelines in the industry with multiple exciting, upcoming brand launches. Demand for one of the company’s long-standing products chlorpyrifos has declined significantly over the last two decades, particularly in the U.S. Due to this reduced demand, Corteva has made the strategic business decision to phase out production of chlorpyrifos in 2020.
Corteva will continue working on the ongoing registration process with the U.S. EPA, as well as supporting EPA’s defense of chlorpyrifos in the 9th Circuit Court through filing of an amicus brief. Corteva will also continue to defend registrations of the product to allow existing product to be used by growers where registered. Chlorpyrifos is safe for all approved uses, as demonstrated by the more than 4,000 studies and reports examining the product in terms of health, safety and the environment. No pest control product has been more thoroughly tested. Corteva continuously invests in research and development to effectively help growers protect their crops, and will work with EPA, USDA, the states and agricultural stakeholders to ensure continued availability of important crop protection technologies.
Leaders at the company say Corteva is committed to continuing to support farmers and invest in products they need. The company’s customers will have access to enough chlorpyrifos supply to cover current demand through the end of the year, while they transition to other products or other providers of chlorpyrifos.
What does this mean for California?
On October 9, 2019, the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal EPA) announced that it had reached an agreement with Dow AgroSciences and other companies that “virtually all use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos in California will end” by the end of 2020. However, this did not apply to chlorpyrifos is granular form which is allowed to remain in the market. Cal EPA stated that “These products are not associated with detrimental health effects. DPR will continue to monitor for any exposures associated with these products.”
As of now, all sales of chlorpyrifos products (except granular) to growers in California ended on February 6, 2020. Growers will no longer be allowed to possess or use chlorpyrifos products (except granular) in California after December 31, 2020. While Corteva has decided to no longer produce chlorpyrifos products, including granular (Lorsban 15G), Drexel Chemical Company will still manufacture granular chlorpyrifos, marketed as “Drexel Chlorpyrifos 15G” and maintain the registration in the state of California.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Lori Apodaca, Director of Regulatory Affairs at lori@www.cacitrusmutual.com or (559) 592-3790.
