The impending release of the EPA Herbicide Strategy has raised many questions and concerns surrounding the impact it will have on growers. While implementation of the strategy will be delayed until the first herbicides are registered under the new rules, growers will need to understand how to implement these practices, the impact adoption will have on their production practices, and what the socioeconomic pluses and minuses will be.

- Distill the requirements of the Herbicide Strategy into an easily digestible format.
- Identify key practices which will need to be implemented for the most common herbicides Iowa growers utilize.
- Work with rural sociologists to determine the challenges of adoption
- Work with ag economists to determine the financial impact for adoption of various practices
- Develop recommendations and guidelines for producers

Initial analysis and deliverables will be developed in the winter and early spring. Many of these milestones will be dependent on the availability of data, however initial data should be presented winter or early spring.

Updated September 9, 2025:
The impending release of the EPA Herbicide Strategy has raised many questions and concerns surrounding the impact it will have on growers. While implementation of the strategy will be delayed until the first herbicides are registered under the new rules, growers will need to understand how to implement these practices, the impact adoption will have on their production practices, and what the socioeconomic pluses and minuses will be.

The proposed objectives of this research is to:
- Distill the requirements of the Herbicide Strategy into an easily digestible format.
- Identify key practices which will need to be implemented for the most common herbicides Iowa growers utilize.
- Work with rural sociologists to determine the challenges of adoption
- Work with ag economists to determine the financial impact for adoption of various practices
- Develop recommendations and guidelines for producers

The outcomes will be rather fluid in nature, and without the Herbicide Strategy in hand, are difficult to put into concrete terms. We will work to identify key challenges presented by the Herbicide Strategy, how they will impact growers, and areas for more in depth research on individual practices.
Currently I have made 8 presentations about the Herbicide Strategy to growers around the state, created two surveys (one for growers and one for retailers/industry), and conducted 6 roundtables around the state to gauge level of concern and need. I plan to create several short how to tutorials for growers and retailers on calculations for erosion/runoff and drift mitigation, breaking them into digestible segments of 3 to 5 minutes. Additional surveys and roundtables are planned for this summer, and additional deliverables will be created.

A better understanding of the challenges growers will face implementing the EPA Herbicide Strategy will be developed, which will help shape Extension activities to help growers and applicators navigate the regulations effectively.