ACTION TAKEN BY GOVERNOR PHIL SCOTT ON LEGISLATION
The Vermont Dairy Producers Alliance has worked diligently this spring to educate all aspects of Vermont government about the limitations of the proposed ban on neonics in Vermont. Please see the message from Governor Phil Scott below and thank you to all our NEAFA members and VDPA partners for all the work done this spring for this positive result!
Montpelier, Vt. − Governor Phil Scott announced action on the following bills, passed by the General Assembly.
Reflecting on the bills coming to his desk this year, Governor Scott said:
“Over the last few years, I’ve tried to meet legislators in the middle, so we can achieve shared priorities. Unfortunately, due to a lack of balance in the Legislature, opposing perspectives and data are often not listened to, or even invited, in the debate. This means some bills are passed without thinking through all the consequences, and therefore, could do more harm than good. Due to the sheer number of bills passed in the last three days of the session, there are many that will fall into this category.
“Please know, as Governor – and therefore the final check before a bill becomes law – I have an obligation to carefully weigh the good against the bad for each, making decisions based on whether the benefits outweigh the negative impacts for our entire state. That is what I’ve been elected to do, and I will follow through.”
On May 20, Governor Scott returned without signature and vetoed:
H.706, An act relating to banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides
He sent the following letter to the General Assembly:
May 20, 2024
Dear Ms. Wrask:
Pursuant to Chapter II, Section 11 of the Vermont Constitution, I’m returning H.706, An act relating to banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, without my signature because of my objections described herein.
Pollinators are essential to growing food and maintaining a healthy, thriving ecosystem. The same is true of farmers, who are also critical contributors to our economy, but altogether, this legislation is more anti-farmer than it is pro-pollinator.
It’s important to note, the honeybee population has grown, while the use of neonics has persisted. In fact, the USDA Census for 2017-2022 shows Vermont’s honeybee population has grown about 30 percent. Additionally, the science is not conclusive on whether this ban will achieve the desired results, but the bill has the potential to produce severe unintended environmental and economic consequences—particularly for Vermont’s dairy farmers.
Although neonics are approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and used on a variety of crops, this bill would ban neonic-treated seeds of corn, soybean, and all other cereal grains (wheat, rice, oats, etc.) and it bans outdoor uses on soybeans, cereal grains, ornamental plants, any plant in bloom and certain vegetables after bloom.
To put the impacts of this bill into context, Vermont grows about 90,000 acres of corn, while the U.S. grows 90 million acres of corn, and almost all corn seed sold in the U.S. is treated with neonics. This would put Vermont farmers at a significant disadvantage.
This is especially concerning given the fact Vermont is struggling to keep dairy farmers, and many more have been put at risk through higher taxes and energy prices, crop losses associated with last year’s spring frost, and summer and winter floods.
This bill unfairly targets dairy farmers reliant on corn crops and will harm farmers without achieving its goals for pollinators. For these reasons I cannot sign it into law.
Rather than eliminating an important EPA-approved tool, we should continue to closely monitor and study the issues and science to protect both family farms – and the food they produce – and pollinators.
Sincerely,
/s/
Philip B. Scott
Governor
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Thank you to all who testified, wrote in, and repeatedly educated on this topic!