{"id":58781,"date":"2024-10-30T01:00:22","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T09:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?p=58781"},"modified":"2025-04-28T15:02:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T22:02:58","slug":"why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not&nbsp;Need"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i>This article was produced as a radio story by our media partner\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicnewsservice.org\/\"><i>Public News Service<\/i><\/a><i>, reaching millions of listeners. Take a listen\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicnewsservice.org\/2025-04-17\/rural-farming\/iowa-farmers-question-need-for-treated-seeds\/a96315-1\">here<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<div class=\"pulled-sidebar pulled-sidebar-center\"><div class=\"pulled-sidebar-title\">What Our Investigation Revealed<\/div><ul>\n<li>Nearly all commodity corn farmers receive seed coated with neonics each season.<\/li>\n<li>Many cannot identify the chemical coating on their seeds and only opt for it because a seed salesperson recommends it.<\/li>\n<li>Companies have made it nearly impossible for farmers to find corn seed that isn\u2019t coated with neonics.<\/li>\n<li>Farmers often feel peer pressure not to ask questions or change their practices in the face of concerns about neonics\u2019 safety.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"post-simple post-capital-letter\"><p> Like so many people whose lives were upended during the pandemic, Sean Dengler returned to his roots. In 2020, he went back to northern Iowa and joined his father in farming 500 acres of corn and soybeans. <\/p><\/div><div class=\"post-simple\">\n<p>As he learned the ropes, he began engaging with <a href=\"https:\/\/practicalfarmers.org\/\">Practical Farmers of Iowa<\/a> (PFI), a unique organization that attracts out-of-the-box thinkers and tinkerers across a wide spectrum of sustainable agriculture in the Midwest. Soon, he was reading about neonicotinoids\u2014\u201cneonics\u201d for short\u2014now the most common chemicals used to kill bugs in American agriculture.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pulled-sidebar pulled-sidebar-right\"><div class=\"pulled-sidebar-title\">Why It Matters<\/div><ul>\n<li>Neonic-treated seeds are planted on approximately 90 million acres of corn fields and more than 40 million acres of soybean fields each year.<\/li>\n<li>Research shows neonics threaten pollinators, birds, aquatic organisms, and mammals, and may pose risks to humans.<\/li>\n<li>Evidence shows there are no significant yield losses from planting seeds without neonic coatings.<\/li>\n<li>Farmers are paying extra for insecticide seed coatings they may not need.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Farmers can spray them on fields, but these insecticides are also attached to seeds as an outer coating, called a seed treatment. As the seeds germinate and grow, the plant\u2019s tissues become toxic to certain pests.<\/p>\n<p>However, neonics impact beneficial insects, too, like <a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2016\/01\/20\/as-bees-die-off-the-epa-shuffles-its-feet\/\">bees and other pollinators<\/a>. Newer research also <a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2021\/02\/02\/beyond-bees-neonics-damage-ecosystems-and-a-push-for-policy-change-is-coming\/\">shows<\/a> neonics threaten birds and some mammals, suggesting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrdc.org\/sites\/default\/files\/letter-wheeler-neonic-pesticides-20200114.pdf\">potential human health impacts<\/a>. In 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/pesticides\/epa-takes-next-step-endangered-species-act-review-three-neonicotinoids\">found<\/a> that the three most common neonics were each likely to harm more than 1,000 endangered species. Also, neonics move through soil into groundwater, contaminating <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/25042208\/\">rivers and streams<\/a> in the Midwest and beyond. Data from 2015 to 2016 <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/31288196\/\">showed<\/a> about half of Americans over three years old were recently exposed to a neonic.<\/p>\n<p>Dengler suspected he had been planting neonic-treated seed, but he wasn\u2019t sure exactly which chemicals the colorful coating was meant to warn him of. He also had no idea if it would be possible for him to order seeds without the treatment. \u201cThe corn is usually either red or purple when it comes,\u201d he said. \u201cThat&#8217;s how it&#8217;s always been. You just get it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In numerous interviews over the past year, other farmers, researchers, and industry insiders described the same scenario to Civil Eats. While the agrichemical industry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.croplifeamerica.org\/sustainability-faqs\">claims farmers<\/a> \u201ccarefully select the right pesticide for each pest and crop at issue\u201d and \u201conly use pesticides as a last resort,\u201d when it comes to neonics, that is false in most cases. <a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/bioscience\/article\/70\/5\/390\/5805569\">Nearly all<\/a> commodity corn farmers receive seed coated with neonics at the start of each season; many cannot identify the chemical that\u2019s in the coating and don\u2019t even know if another option exists.<\/p>\n<p>These findings are significant for a few key reasons.<\/p>\n<p>First, the pesticide industry often calls seed treatment environmentally beneficial because it reduces the amount of insecticide applied per acre compared to spraying. This is true. But research shows that the preemptive coating of seed with neonics has resulted in farmers using insecticides, overall, on significantly more total acres than they were a few decades ago. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/John-Tooker\/publication\/273778225_Large-Scale_Deployment_of_Seed_Treatments_Has_Driven_Rapid_Increase_in_Use_of_Neonicotinoid_Insecticides_and_Preemptive_Pest_Management_in_US_Field_Crops\/links\/5a201672aca272088b23fc3e\/Large-Scale-Deployment-of-Seed-Treatments-Has-Driven-Rapid-Increase-in-Use-of-Neonicotinoid-Insecticides-and-Preemptive-Pest-Management-in-US-Field-Crops.pdf\">A 2015 study<\/a> published by researchers Maggie Douglas and John Tooker at Penn State University found that neonic seed treatments are now used on almost triple the area that had once been sprayed with insecticides, indicating their negative impacts could be more widely distributed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-image-caption align-right\"><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-3-chart-treated-seed-usage-in-pounds-source-acs-douglas-tooker.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-3-chart-treated-seed-usage-in-pounds-source-acs-douglas-tooker.jpg\" alt=\"Chart showing a rapid rise in the use of neonicotinoid pesticides between 1995 and 2011. The majority of neonics are used in corn and soybeans. (Source: Douglas and Tooker, Environ. Sci. Technol. 2015, 49, 8, 5088\u20135097\"><\/a><div class=\"post-caption\"><p>Chart showing the rise in the use of neonicotinoid pesticides between 1995 and 2011. The majority of neonics are used in corn and soybeans. (Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/doi\/10.1021\/es506141g\">Douglas and Tooker<\/a>, <em>Environ. Sci. Technol.<\/em> 2015, 49, 8, 5088\u20135097)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Second, a significant portion of that use may be for nothing. In corn and soy fields, new <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s11356-017-1052-5.pdf\">research<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2018\/03\/28\/new-science-shows-bee-killing-pesticides-are-unnecessary-on-most-farms\/\">evidence<\/a> accumulated over the last few years suggest that widespread use of neonic-treated seeds provide minimal benefit to farmers. One <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0229136\">study from Quebec<\/a> helped convince the Canadian province <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/montreal\/pesticide-restrictions-quebec-1.3330148\">to change its laws<\/a> to restrict the use of neonic seed treatments. After five years and <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn-contenu.quebec.ca\/cdn-contenu\/adm\/min\/environnement\/pesticides\/bilan-ventes-pesticides-quebec.pdf\">a 95 percent drop<\/a> in the use of neonic-coated seeds, there have been no reported <a href=\"https:\/\/statistique.quebec.ca\/en\/document\/area-of-field-crops-yield-per-hectare-and-production-by-combined-administrative-regions\/tableau\/area-of-field-crops-yield-per-hectare-and-production-by-combined-administrative-regions#tri_cult=35\">impacts on crop yields<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But based on conversations with farmers and other industry insiders, agrichemical companies that sell seeds and pesticides continue to steer farmers toward using neonics on their seeds\u2014and sometimes, there are no other options available. \u201cThey scare the farmers and say that you&#8217;re going to lose your yield, that you&#8217;re going to have crop failure, and the whole grain sector will just collapse,\u201d said Louis Robert, a Canadian agronomist who previously worked for the Quebec government, where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/montreal\/agriculture-minister-whistleblower-1.5173818\">he revealed pesticide-industry meddling<\/a> in research on neonics\u2019 environmental harms. \u201cThey go very far in terms of misleading people.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"pulled-sidebar pulled-sidebar-right\"><div class=\"pulled-sidebar-title\">Chemical\u00a0Capture: The Power and\u00a0Impact of the Pesticide Industry<\/div><p>Read all the stories in <a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/chemical-capture\">our series<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Overview: <a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/03\/27\/chemical-capture-the-power-and-impact-of-the-pesticide-industry\/\">Chemical Capture: The Power and Impact of the Pesticide Industry<\/a><br \/>\nHow the agrichemical industry is shaping public information about the toxicity of pesticides, how they\u2019re being used, and the policies that impact the health of all Americans.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/03\/27\/inside-bayers-state-by-state-efforts-to-stop-pesticide-lawsuits\/\">Inside Bayer\u2019s State-by-State Efforts to Stop Pesticide Lawsuits<\/a><br \/>\nAs the agrichemical giant lays groundwork to fend off Roundup litigation, its use of a playbook for building influence in farm state legislatures has the potential to benefit pesticide companies nationwide.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/07\/09\/are-companies-using-carbon-markets-to-sell-more-pesticides\">Are Companies Using Carbon Markets to Sell More Pesticides?<\/a><br \/>\nMany programs meant to help farmers address climate change are now owned by companies that sell chemicals, which could boost practices that depend on pesticides rather than those that reduce their use.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/\">Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not Need<\/a><br \/>\nNeonicotinoids coat nearly all the corn and soybean seeds available for planting. Agrichemical companies have designed it that way.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/12\/18\/why-are-pesticide-companies-fighting-state-laws-to-address-pfas\/\">Why Are Pesticide Companies Fighting State Efforts to Address PFAS?<\/a><br \/>\nIn Maine, Maryland, and beyond, the industry is using a \u2018grassroots\u2019 network of farmers, lobbyists, and other tactics to slow legislators\u2019 attempts to get forever chemicals out of food and water.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>At the same time, the industry has engaged in <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2020\/01\/18\/bees-insecticides-pesticides-neonicotinoids-bayer-monsanto-syngenta\/\">a broad, sophisticated lobbying and public relations effort<\/a> to block regulation in the U.S., muddy the research waters, and even influence Google search results for neonics, all of which has been documented in depth <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2020\/01\/18\/bees-insecticides-pesticides-neonicotinoids-bayer-monsanto-syngenta\/\">by The Intercept<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>So, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/article\/european-union-expands-ban-three-neonicotinoid-pesticides\">Europe<\/a> and Canada have been moving away from the widespread use of neonics, the U.S. has barely budged in its approach. Neonic-treated seeds are planted on nearly 90 million acres of corn fields and more than 40 million acres of soybean fields each year.\u00a0Only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/new-york-neonic-ban-crop-seed-coatings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/new-york-neonic-ban-crop-seed-coatings\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731600511362000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2ymarSuyhbk0w1ldVU6FQU\">New York <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncelenviro.org\/articles\/vermont-becomes-second-state-to-enact-sweeping-pollinator-protections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.ncelenviro.org\/articles\/vermont-becomes-second-state-to-enact-sweeping-pollinator-protections\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731600511362000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1-lyj_pJWOnSQEtxvAILFF\">Vermont <\/a>have passed bans that include eliminating them as coatings on corn and soy seeds\u2014and those laws do not go into effect until 2029. (Neonic treatments are common on many other seeds, including wheat, cotton, and vegetables, and farmers\u2019 reliance on them varies across different crops. This investigation focused only on corn and soy, by far the two most widely planted crops in the country.)<\/p>\n<p>Over the course of three weeks in October, Civil Eats sent at least four interview requests and detailed questions to CropLife America, which represents the pesticide industry, but did not receive a response. We also sent emails to press contacts at the companies that make or sell pesticide and seed products mentioned in this story: Corteva (which owns Pioneer) and Winfield United (owned by Land O\u2019Lakes) did not respond. A spokesperson for Syngenta directed Civil Eats to <a href=\"https:\/\/growingmatters.org\/besure\">\u201cGrowing Matters\u201d<\/a> and sent a statement that reads, \u201cPlanting seeds treated with crop-protection products is a more precise way for farmers to protect their crops from early season pests and diseases. As you can see from our global <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seedcareresourcecenter.com\/service\">Seedcare Institute website<\/a>, Syngenta is a leader in providing treated seeds of the highest quality and committed to helping farmers achieve their yield goals sustainably.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>No Knowledge, No Choice<\/h4>\n<\/div><div class=\"post-simple post-capital-letter\"><p> For many years, Kynetec, a global data company, asked farmers to share which insecticides were on their seeds and then provided the federal government with estimates of how many acres were being planted with the chemicals included. But because farmers were so often unable to name the specific chemicals, it was impossible to warrant a reliable data set. They stopped in 2014. <\/p><\/div><div class=\"post-simple\">\n<p>A few years later, in a 2020 paper, researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/bioscience\/article\/70\/5\/390\/5805569\">reported in the journal <em>Bioscience<\/em><\/a> that only 65 percent of corn growers and 62 percent of soybean growers could name the seed treatment <em>product<\/em> they were using. Even if they did know the product, that didn\u2019t mean they knew what was in it. In fact, in 15 to 35 percent of cases, corn growers incorrectly identified the pesticides included in the treatment.<\/p>\n<p>It speaks to why Damon Smith\u2019s colleagues at the University of Wisconsin\u2019s Nutrient and Pest Management Program dreamed up a resource dubbed <a href=\"https:\/\/ipcm.wisc.edu\/uw-npm-whats-on-your-seed\/\">\u201cWhat\u2019s on your seed?\u201d<\/a> When Smith, a biologist who studies field crop diseases, started working on it around 2010, the document was a page or two long, and they updated it every few years. Today, it\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/ipcm.wisc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/54\/2024\/02\/UW-NPM-Whats-on-your-seed.pdf\">a six-page PDF<\/a> that the team updates at least once a year to keep up with new seed treatments hitting the market.<\/p>\n<p>Very few of those are new chemicals entirely. Most are new combinations of a neonic (or another insecticide) paired with anywhere from one to four fungicides, and maybe a nematicide, a chemical that targets pests called nematodes.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_58834\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-5-Thiamethoxam-products-graphic-2.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-58834\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-58834 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-5-Thiamethoxam-products-graphic-2-350x350.png\" alt=\"an illustration showing eight of the products that contain the neonicotinoid pesticide thiamethoxam - names include Cruiser 5FS, Avicta Duo 250, Seed Shield MAX Beans, and more. (Illustration by Civil Eats)\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-58834\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-58834 lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-5-Thiamethoxam-products-graphic-2-350x350.png\" alt=\"an illustration showing eight of the products that contain the neonicotinoid pesticide thiamethoxam - names include Cruiser 5FS, Avicta Duo 250, Seed Shield MAX Beans, and more. (Illustration by Civil Eats)\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-5-Thiamethoxam-products-graphic-2-350x350.png 350w, https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-5-Thiamethoxam-products-graphic-2-700x700.png 700w, https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-5-Thiamethoxam-products-graphic-2-200x200.png 200w, https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-5-Thiamethoxam-products-graphic-2-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-5-Thiamethoxam-products-graphic-2-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-5-Thiamethoxam-products-graphic-2.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a> Illustration by Civil Eats (click for a larger version)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThere&#8217;s quite a few products out there, and it&#8217;s gotten increasingly complicated,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n<p>Sales agronomists who work for seed companies, farmers said, sell product packages based mainly on their marketed \u201cyield potential\u201d and are unlikely to talk up the names of pesticides included in the coating. And they emphasize the need for seed coatings as insurance against crop loss.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe way it often gets marketed to [farmers] is, they get one chance a year to get it right,\u201d explained Mac Erhardt, co-owner of <a href=\"https:\/\/alseed.com\/\">Albert Lea Seed<\/a>, a small, family-owned seed company based in Minnesota and Iowa. \u201cThe big chemical companies have been pretty successful at distributing counter-information where they show, \u2018Well, if you plant naked seed, you&#8217;re giving up five bushels an acre.\u2019\u201d Six or seven years ago, before his company made a full switch to selling non-GMO and organic seeds, Erhardt said his contracts with big seed companies required him to treat corn seed with neonics before selling it.<\/p>\n<p>With soybeans, the system works a little differently, and farmers are able to select seed treatments at the time of sale.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-quote\"><p>One Iowa farmer compared soybean seed selection to a car wash. Instead of exterior, interior, and a wax, it\u2019s neonicotinoid, fungicide, and a nematicide.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>One Iowa farmer, who asked not to be named, compared the process to a car wash. \u201cYou can pick what you want on the screen, and then it formulates it and puts it through,\u201d she said. Instead of exterior, interior, and a wax, it\u2019s neonicotinoid, fungicide, and a nematicide.<\/p>\n<p>Still, farmers said they almost always defer to the seed dealers and are often unaware of what the treatments they\u2019re selecting consist of. \u201cFrom a farmer\u2019s perspective, we want a seed to be protected, so we just trust that whatever potion they put on the seed, it\u2019s going to be okay. They\u2019re not in the business of selling seed that will yield less, so we just put our trust in them,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we had real choices, those that know insecticides like neonics are harmful, we\u2019re not going to push that button.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Fears About Speaking Out Against Treated Seeds<\/h4>\n<\/div><div class=\"post-simple post-capital-letter\"><p> Pesticide companies are so entrenched in the culture of agricultural communities, asking questions about insecticides and their merits or detriments also can feel taboo. One reason this farmer did not want to be named was because she thought, with all of the seed contracts she\u2019d signed over the years, that it was possible she had signed a non-disclosure agreement without realizing it. <\/p><\/div><div class=\"post-simple\">\n<p>For others, it\u2019s much more personal. After Frank Rademacher, who has been farming corn and soybeans with his dad in east-central Illinois since 2018, talked about neonics to a reporter at a farming publication, another farmer yelled at him in public and accused him of hurting agriculture.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-image-caption align-right\"><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-3-chart-treated-seed-usage-in-pounds-source-usgs-cropped.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-3-chart-treated-seed-usage-in-pounds-source-usgs-cropped.jpg\" alt=\"Estimated agricultural use of the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam, by year and crop, between 1992 and 2019. Corn and soybeans are by far the crops with the most thiamethoxam use. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey data)\"><\/a><div class=\"post-caption\"><p>Estimated agricultural use of the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam, by year and crop, between 1992 and 2019. 2014 was the last year that Kynetec provided USGS with data that included seed treatment, so the 2015 drop-off shows how much use is in seed coatings.<br \/>\n(Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/water.usgs.gov\/nawqa\/pnsp\/usage\/maps\/show_map.php?year=2019&#038;map=THIAMETHOXAM&#038;hilo=L&#038;disp=Thiamethoxam\">U.S. Geological Survey data<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Rademacher said that many farmers he encounters have a vague, visceral sense that there may be risks associated with the colorful dust that blows into the air as the high-powered vacuum system shoots seeds into the ground and the tractor shakes and bumps around. But pesticides are so commonplace that at a forum he attended, farmers laughed about which ones cause rashes and which lead to headaches. With neonics, he said, they\u2019re grateful to have insecticides that are not as acutely toxic as the ones their parents handled. If they try not to touch the seeds with their bare hands or breathe too much of the dust in, it feels like enough.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe products that they were using growing up, they were just horrible,\u201d he said of farmers in their 50s and older like his dad, who might have been exposed to insecticides like <a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2022\/07\/06\/ddt-elena-conis-pesticides-health-farmworkers-chemicals-safety-regulation\/\">DDT<\/a>, malathion, and <a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2018\/06\/20\/hawaii-shows-states-power-to-regulate-pesticides\/\">chlorpyrifos<\/a> that have now been banned or phased out. \u201cThis is kind of an invisible issue. It takes away a lot of the acute exposure, and what you trade is the long-term personal and environmental low-level exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_58831\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-6-roadmap-to-thiamethoxam-illustration.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-58831\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-58831 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-6-roadmap-to-thiamethoxam-illustration-350x873.png\" alt=\"infographic showing how complicated it is to find out what chemicals are included in a treated seed product. (Illustration by Civil Eats)\" width=\"350\" height=\"873\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-58831\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-58831 lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-6-roadmap-to-thiamethoxam-illustration-350x873.png\" alt=\"infographic showing how complicated it is to find out what chemicals are included in a treated seed product. (Illustration by Civil Eats)\" width=\"350\" height=\"873\" srcset=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-6-roadmap-to-thiamethoxam-illustration-350x873.png 350w, https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-6-roadmap-to-thiamethoxam-illustration-700x1745.png 700w, https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-6-roadmap-to-thiamethoxam-illustration-200x499.png 200w, https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-6-roadmap-to-thiamethoxam-illustration-768x1915.png 768w, https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-6-roadmap-to-thiamethoxam-illustration-616x1536.png 616w, https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-6-roadmap-to-thiamethoxam-illustration-822x2048.png 822w, https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-6-roadmap-to-thiamethoxam-illustration.png 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a> Illustration by Civil Eats<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Sean Dengler worried that even asking questions about neonics when buying his seed would upset others in his small farming community, some of whom he had known since childhood and considered friends. \u201cMy dad&#8217;s very conventional, and I don&#8217;t wanna make him feel uncomfortable in that way. It&#8217;s kind of like a peer pressure type of thing,\u201d he said. But Dengler\u00a0 recognized the power that gave the industry. \u201cIt\u2019s a good thing for big business. You get everyone on one side, and you can&#8217;t have people think differently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With the name of Dengler\u2019s product in hand, Civil Eats tried to find out for him if the soybean treatment he had used contained a neonic. Because it was a newer product and wasn\u2019t yet listed in Damon Smith\u2019s resource, it took significant searching and emailing to track down the chemicals included. The insecticide was thiamethoxam\u2014one of the most common neonics.<\/p>\n<p>Later, Dengler got his chance to ask about what was included in his corn seed treatments. Attending a plot tour hosted by Pioneer, one of the major seed companies, he learned that the corn seed had \u201cseven fungicide treatments and two insecticide treatments on it. That&#8217;s the first time during my farming career I heard anything about it,\u201d he explained by email to Civil Eats.<\/p>\n<h4>Leaving Neonic-Coated Seeds Behind<\/h4>\n<\/div><div class=\"post-simple post-capital-letter\"><p> For those who do decide to swim upstream, the current encouraging them to stay the usual course is strong. <\/p><\/div><div class=\"post-simple\">\n<p>\u201cEven though there&#8217;s data showing that, \u2018Hey, with a few tweaks, you can change your farming practices and you don&#8217;t need to use insecticides on your seed,\u2019 [farmers] still want that protection. They don&#8217;t want that one-out-of-every-10-years problem,\u201d said Erhardt, from Albert Lea Seed.<\/p>\n<p>That rare issue is the sticking point: Neonics are very good at killing some pests that can cause serious damage to crops, and companies are quick to point to that. One <a href=\"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/The-Role-of-Seed-Treatment-in-Modern-US-Crop-Production.pdf\">industry document<\/a> created by CropLife to promote neonics on seeds highlights a study that found the number of plants that survived the season increased 18 percent, and crop yield increased by 12 percent, \u201cwhen neonicotinoid-treated corn seed was planted into corn fields with high wireworm populations.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-quote\"><p>\u201cEven though there&#8217;s data showing that, \u2018Hey, with a few tweaks, you can change your farming practices and you don&#8217;t need to use insecticides on your seed,\u2019 [farmers] still want that protection.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In other words, if you use neonics in a field infested with wireworm, it really helps. But using it on every field preventatively is like taking an antibiotic every day in case an infection pops up at some point. \u201cMost of the pests that neonics really work well on are highly sporadic,\u201d said Maggie Douglas, who is now an assistant professor of environmental studies at Dickinson College. \u201cThe question is: How many farmers are having a seedcorn maggot infestation in their field in a given year?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Seedcorn maggots are dreaded for their ability to burrow into seeds and kill a crop off the bat. But in New York, at least, there\u2019s a clear answer. As the campaign to pass a law banning the use of neonicotinoid coatings on corn and soybean seeds heated up, farm groups were concerned, specifically, about how they\u2019d control the pest.<\/p>\n<p>So, researchers at Cornell University\u2019s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences <a href=\"https:\/\/cals.cornell.edu\/new-york-state-integrated-pest-management\/research-initiatives\/current-projects\/alternatives-neonic-insecticides\/seed-treatment-alternatives\">set out to quantify<\/a> how big the problem was. They set up ten one-year trials in four different locations across the state, comparing neonic-treated fields to fields planted with alternative seed treatments. After they pooled and analyzed the data, <a href=\"https:\/\/cals.cornell.edu\/new-york-state-integrated-pest-management\/research-initiatives\/current-projects\/alternatives-neonic-insecticides\/seed-treatment-alternatives\">their preliminary conclusions were that<\/a> there were no significant differences and that overall, \u201cseedcorn maggots were not a factor in establishing corn\u201d in any of their trials. (They expect to release final results from three years of trials this winter.) In Quebec, researchers <em>did<\/em> find seedcorn maggot infestations that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7043745\/\">caused damage to young corn plants<\/a>, but at the end of the day, the infestations still didn\u2019t result in yield losses.<\/p>\n<p>Another big hurdle facing farmers who want to move away from neonics is that they would also likely have to switch to non-genetically modified seed, said Rademacher. \u201cI&#8217;m not aware of any seed company that that offers untreated seed in a GMO variety,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>If it was available, he would likely know. Not only does Rademacher have a degree in crop science with a focus on pest management, he also has an off-farm job as a conservation agronomist for The Nature Conservancy. In his own fields, he began implementing all kinds of conservation practices and, to ditch neonic coatings on his corn, was able to navigate the accompanying switch to planting non-GMO seed. But even a neonic-skeptical farmer would likely balk at giving up the protection against other pests that genetic modification enables. For example, if corn seed is not genetically modified to withstand glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, farmers would have to stop spraying the widely used weedkiller to avoid killing their corn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou&#8217;re asking people to make not just one big shift but potentially two or more big shifts,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s all or nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One compelling reason to make the switch is cost savings. In Quebec, a group of farmers convened by the University of Vermont last spring all said their seed costs $10\u2013$20 less per bag now that they\u2019re not paying for the neonicotinoid coating. In Iowa, the farmer who paid to have her soybeans coated said she was charged $2\/acre\u2014or $1,000 extra for a 500-acre field. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ers.usda.gov\/webdocs\/publications\/42517\/13605_aib786g_1_.pdf?v=0\">estimates<\/a>, seed treatment \u201cmay account for around 15 percent of the seed price.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That got Dengler\u2019s attention. With a degree in finance, he was particularly interested in opportunities to cut costs on the farm, and he was intrigued by a PFI farmer who <a href=\"https:\/\/practicalfarmers.org\/2020\/10\/a-costly-gamble\/\">conducted his own field trials<\/a> on neonics. The results showed that the treatment applied to his soybean seeds might not be necessary: The farmer planted beans without the coating, the plants stayed healthy, and crop yields didn\u2019t drop.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you tie in the environmental impact of the seed treatment on the soybeans, I was like, \u2018I&#8217;ll even take a bushel or two less, just because I believe that I&#8217;m doing the right thing,\u2019\u201d he said. While he couldn\u2019t see how to do it with corn, he started opting out of neonic treatments on his soybean seeds.<\/p>\n<p>After harvest ended, he reported that all but one of his soybean fields yielded better than last year. But a clear takeaway on whether his choice to forgo neonics had an impact would be tough, he said. For one, growing conditions were better this season. Both years were dry, and wet conditions are often what precipitate early-season insect issues. So far, based on the lack of a clear difference, he said adding the neonic treatments \u201cdoesn\u2019t seem worth the pay or environmental impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Rademacher is a few years in. Since planting seeds without neonic coatings, he said his yields might vary a few bushels here or there, but it\u2019s nothing significant.<\/p>\n<p>However, he didn\u2019t just change his seeds and continue farming the same way. Instead, he\u2019s investing in an entirely different method of pest control. \u201cAs counterintuitive as it seems, our system is to promote insects. We have no tillage, so we don\u2019t destroy their houses every year, and we provide year-round habitat via cover crops,\u201d he said. Each small change adds up, and now, he and his dad are seeing significant numbers of beneficial insects returning, which keeps the bad guys in check.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-quote\"><p>\u201cToday, as we speak in 2024 in Quebec, over half of the corn and soy acreage doesn&#8217;t carry any insecticide, and we&#8217;re going to have a fantastic year in terms of yield.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In fact, the research that first spurred Douglas\u2019 interest in neonics was on this very topic: In the lab, she accidently discovered that neonics were killing the beneficial beetles that prey on the slugs destroying Pennsylvania farmers\u2019 yields\u2014but not the slugs themselves. The discovery led her to a research trial that ultimately found that in their specific region, neonic treatments <a href=\"https:\/\/besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1111\/1365-2664.12372\">could actually reduce yields<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Further north, Quebe\u00e7ois farmers have the biggest head start. During the University of Vermont panel, one said he had learned a simple trick since ditching neonic seed treatments: He waits to see when his neighbor\u2014an organic farmer\u2014is ready to plant, and he follows his lead. That simple adjustment allows him to sidestep early season pest risks.<\/p>\n<p>For agronomist Louis Robert, the success of the Quebec government\u2019s decision to move away from neonics on corn and soy seeds is apparent not in what\u2019s being said, but in the silence. After five years, farmers aren\u2019t talking about crop failure at their local meeting places, he said, and he hasn\u2019t seen any media coverage of the neonic ban. Farmers can apply to use neonic-treated seed if they document a need, but almost no one\u2019s doing so, he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most reliable proof is that it\u2019s not even a matter of discussion anymore,\u201d Robert said. \u201cToday, as we speak in 2024 in Quebec, over half of the corn and soy acreage doesn&#8217;t carry any insecticide, and we&#8217;re going to have <a href=\"https:\/\/www150.statcan.gc.ca\/n1\/daily-quotidien\/240916\/dq240916b-eng.htm\">a fantastic year<\/a> in terms of yield. So, the demonstration is right there in front of you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>This article was updated to include the fact that the Vermont state legislature <a href=\"https:\/\/hardwickgazette.org\/2024\/06\/18\/house-and-senate-override-neonicotinoid-ban-veto\/\">overrode a veto<\/a> to allow its ban on neonic-coated seeds to become law. <\/em><\/p>\n<div class='ctx-module-container ctx_default_placement ctx-clearfix'><\/div><span class=\"ctx-article-root\"><!-- --><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This article was produced as a radio story by our media partner\u00a0Public News Service, reaching millions of listeners. Take a listen\u00a0here. As he learned the ropes, he began engaging with Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), a unique organization that attracts out-of-the-box thinkers and tinkerers across a wide spectrum of sustainable agriculture in the Midwest. Soon, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":740,"featured_media":58801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43519,4480,43396,3265,4640],"tags":[],"coauthors":[4440],"class_list":["post-58781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chemical-capture","category-health","category-investigations","category-pesticides","category-rural-america"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.6 (Yoast SEO v25.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not Need | Civil Eats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Neonicotinoids coat nearly all the corn and soybean seeds available for planting. Agrichemical companies have designed it that way.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not Need\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Neonicotinoids coat nearly all the corn and soybean seeds available for planting. Agrichemical companies have designed it that way.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Civil Eats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-30T09:00:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-28T22:02:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-1-top-cropped.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lisa Held\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Neonicotinoids coat nearly all the corn and soybean seeds available for planting. Agrichemical companies have designed it that way.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/CC-3-X-Hed-thumbnail.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@lisaelaineh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CivilEats\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lisa Held\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"16 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lisa Held\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/981da1570dfae1a2f01ec1130cd7e919\"},\"headline\":\"Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not&nbsp;Need\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-30T09:00:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-28T22:02:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/\"},\"wordCount\":3492,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-1-top-cropped.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Chemical Capture\",\"Health\",\"Investigations\",\"Pesticides\",\"Rural America\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/\",\"name\":\"Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not Need | Civil Eats\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-1-top-cropped.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-30T09:00:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-28T22:02:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"Neonicotinoids coat nearly all the corn and soybean seeds available for planting. Agrichemical companies have designed it that way.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-1-top-cropped.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-1-top-cropped.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"a farmer walks among the rows of corn in his cornfield; in the background, chemical hazard warning symbols appear on the horizon and fade into the distance.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not&nbsp;Need\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/\",\"name\":\"Civil Eats\",\"description\":\"Daily News and Commentary About the American Food System\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Civil Eats\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":455,\"caption\":\"Civil Eats\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CivilEats\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/civileats\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/981da1570dfae1a2f01ec1130cd7e919\",\"name\":\"Lisa Held\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/8204deae4d67c26a0796254c65cb75a3\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/lisa-held-headshot-bw-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/lisa-held-headshot-bw-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Lisa Held\"},\"description\":\"Lisa Held is Civil Eats\u2019 senior staff reporter and contributing editor. Since 2015, she has reported on agriculture and the food system with an eye toward sustainability, equality, and health, and her stories have appeared in publications including The Guardian, The Washington Post, and Mother Jones. In the past, she covered health and wellness and was an editor at Well+Good. She is based in Baltimore and has a master's degree from Columbia University's School of Journalism.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/lisaelaineh\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/author\/lheld\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not Need | Civil Eats","description":"Neonicotinoids coat nearly all the corn and soybean seeds available for planting. Agrichemical companies have designed it that way.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not Need","og_description":"Neonicotinoids coat nearly all the corn and soybean seeds available for planting. Agrichemical companies have designed it that way.","og_url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/","og_site_name":"Civil Eats","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637","article_published_time":"2024-10-30T09:00:22+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-28T22:02:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-1-top-cropped.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lisa Held","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Neonicotinoids coat nearly all the corn and soybean seeds available for planting. Agrichemical companies have designed it that way.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/CC-3-X-Hed-thumbnail.png","twitter_creator":"@lisaelaineh","twitter_site":"@CivilEats","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lisa Held","Est. reading time":"16 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/"},"author":{"name":"Lisa Held","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/981da1570dfae1a2f01ec1130cd7e919"},"headline":"Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not&nbsp;Need","datePublished":"2024-10-30T09:00:22+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-28T22:02:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/"},"wordCount":3492,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-1-top-cropped.jpg","articleSection":["Chemical Capture","Health","Investigations","Pesticides","Rural America"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/","name":"Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not Need | Civil Eats","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-1-top-cropped.jpg","datePublished":"2024-10-30T09:00:22+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-28T22:02:58+00:00","description":"Neonicotinoids coat nearly all the corn and soybean seeds available for planting. Agrichemical companies have designed it that way.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-1-top-cropped.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241030-chemical-capture-treated-seeds-neonicotinoids-neonics-marketing-culture-alternatives-research-1-top-cropped.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"a farmer walks among the rows of corn in his cornfield; in the background, chemical hazard warning symbols appear on the horizon and fade into the distance."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/30\/why-farmers-use-harmful-insecticides-they-may-not-need\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why Farmers Use Harmful Insecticides They May Not&nbsp;Need"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/","name":"Civil Eats","description":"Daily News and Commentary About the American Food System","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization","name":"Civil Eats","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png","width":800,"height":455,"caption":"Civil Eats"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637","https:\/\/x.com\/CivilEats","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/civileats\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/981da1570dfae1a2f01ec1130cd7e919","name":"Lisa Held","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/8204deae4d67c26a0796254c65cb75a3","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/lisa-held-headshot-bw-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/lisa-held-headshot-bw-150x150.jpg","caption":"Lisa Held"},"description":"Lisa Held is Civil Eats\u2019 senior staff reporter and contributing editor. Since 2015, she has reported on agriculture and the food system with an eye toward sustainability, equality, and health, and her stories have appeared in publications including The Guardian, The Washington Post, and Mother Jones. In the past, she covered health and wellness and was an editor at Well+Good. She is based in Baltimore and has a master's degree from Columbia University's School of Journalism.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/lisaelaineh"],"url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/author\/lheld\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/740"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58781"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63671,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58781\/revisions\/63671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58781"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=58781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}