EPA Spray Drift Assessment and Agricultural Lending Increases

**The EPA has released updated risk assessments for spray drift from four organophosphate pesticides.

The materials, diazinon, ethoprop, tribufos and phosmet are used in agriculture for fruit and nut trees, vegetables and cotton, and for a variety of purposes in nonagricultural settings.

The EPA is undertaking a lengthy registration review process for them.

**Despite numerous headwinds in 2022, agricultural lending by U.S. farm banks increased 8.1% in 2022.

The American Bankers Association’s annual Farm Bank Performance Report says the change is due to a 9.7% increase in outstanding loans secured by farmland and a 5.9% increase in agricultural and production loans.

The bankers say the ag sector will face continued challenges in 2023 due to monetary policy actions targeting persistent inflation and continuing geopolitical uncertainty.

**Farmers Business Network released its 2023 Ag Chemical Price Transparency Report which highlights the extreme price variation facing farmers.

The report collected information from 37 states and accounts for over 800 insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides.

FBN Chief economist Kevin McNew says, “Providing more transparency enables producers to make more informed buying decisions to drive ROI from every input dollar.”

Across 236 different chemical products, there was a 15% average variance between the average list price of a product and the price farmers actually paid for it.