WASHINGTON — At the beginning of July, the Environmental Protection Agency announced an opportunity for the public to help develop a national innovation challenge with up to $30 million in total prize funding.
The challenge will support practical, cost-effective alternatives to conventional chemical crop desiccation, the common practice of spraying pesticides to dry out crops in the final days before harvest, the EPA stated in an announcement.
This challenge will assist American farmers in reaping their harvest with less chemicals while also protecting human health and the environment. Because of this, the challenge is a win for both ends of the farming process. Families get food grown with fewer conventional pesticides; farmers get new, science-based tools that lower costs, protect their workers, and keep American agriculture strong and competitive in a changing global market, EPA added.
“American farmers feed our families, and they deserve the best tools to do that job safely,” Lee Zeldin, EPA administrator, said. “This challenge backs our farmers, protects the health of American families, and helps modernize our farms. By listening to growers, researchers, and communities, we can cut exposure risks and make America’s food supply stronger and more resilient.”
The EPA has the legal authority to monitor pesticides and protect the environment and human health, and this challenge is one way the agency is using real funding to find real-world solutions for America’s farms.
Desiccants are pesticides that farmers spray to dry out plants quickly and are usually applied in the final weeks before harvest to help a crop ripen evenly and make harvesting easier and faster, EPA explained.
Despite the purpose desiccants serve on a modern farm, there are concerns that the chemicals can leave residue on the crops and create health risks because they are applied close to harvest. Those potential health risks are exactly the reason why safer and more effective alternatives are important.
Most of the EPA’s solutions correspond with regenerative agriculture. Integrated Pest Management practices like smarter crop timing, natural drying methods, and precision technology can do the same job as chemical sprays with far less of them and at less cost to farmers, EPA noted.
The EPA released the Request for Information on July 1 that will form the design of the challenge, including its scope, participants, and judging and testing processes. The EPA is specifically interested in cost-effective solutions that maintain or improve harvest readiness, crop quality, and operational efficiency across a range of crop systems, EPA stated.
Possible alternatives include:
- Improved agronomic practices and crop scheduling
- Mechanical or physical drying methods
- Biological or lower-risk inputs
- Precision agriculture technologies
- Post-harvest conditioning innovations
EPA is looking for input from a wide range of stakeholders and any interested members of the public. For more information, visit the EPA website.
