Catching Up with CropLife America’s New President Alex Dunn
October 30, 2024 Good things come to she who waits. For me, it was the chance to talk with Alex Dunn, the new President and CEO of industry association CropLife America (CLA).
CLA is laser focused on market access for pesticides, emphasized Dunn, starting with advocacy and support for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), specifically the Office of Pesticide Programs, and “ensuring they have sufficient funding to operate and conduct federally required pesticide reviews and registrations,” she said.
In 2022, EPA published a “workplan” for meeting its obligations to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for all registered pesticides, including herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, and fungicides. The final Herbicide Strategy was released in August.
I asked her how CLA — whose members produce, formulate, and distribute virtually all organic and non-organic pesticide and biotechnology products used by American farmers — is helping the industry understand and respond to EPA’s strategy.
Building partnerships is key, she said, and a big part of that is collaborating with the distributors who interact directly with farmers to share information about the EPA’s strategy and the potential impacts to farmers. Crop advisors and ag extension also play a vital role in helping raise awareness about the EPA’s strategy, Dunn emphasized.
Ultimately, the label is the law, she said, “and currently there are only a handful (less than 10) labels that have explicit Endangered Species Act requirements that have been incorporated onto the label.”
In that case, some farmers may not have to do anything right now because the products they are using have not yet gone through the EPA’s Endangered Species Act review process. However, the industry could start seeing the first label changes for registration reviewed products toward the end of 2025, and for new active ingredients slightly sooner.
I also asked Dunn about ag tech, which she acknowledged is “loaded with potential” for both pesticide chemistry and equipment. At the same time, the speed at which ag tech is evolving poses challenges for federal regulators to stay current on new technologies, creating potential knowledge and science gaps that can hamper innovation, she cautioned, and slow the approval process for getting new technologies to market.
In the worst-case scenario, review of innovative products could slow down to the point where companies will look to other markets like Brazil, Canada, or Australia, for example, resulting in “farmers in other countries having access to more innovative pesticide options than American farmers,” said Dunn.
There’s no doubt that Dunn and CLA have their work cut out for them, which is both exciting and daunting.
Nonetheless, she’s clear on what she hopes to achieve during her tenure.
“I want to assure that CLA is ‘in the game’ and anticipating what’s next when it comes to this incredibly dynamic industry. To be a resource, to be knowledgeable, and to be viewed as smart, science-based, accurate, and trusted.”
And while CLA advocates for the industry, “it’s important that we can always be counted on for straight answers, and to be honest and transparent,” she said. “This is what will keep CropLife America relevant in the future.”
Let’s get growing!
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