A bill to partially ban the use of pesticide-treated seeds deadly to birds, bees and fish has emerged as a major test for Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Environmental advocates are pressing the governor to sign the Birds and Bees Protection Act by yearend, while the New York Farm Bureau and chemical companies are pushing for a veto.
Seeds treated with neonicotinoids, or neonics, are commonly used by corn, soybean and wheat farmers across New York as insurance against infestation. They’re also used to protect golf courses and greenhouse plants and to control indoor insect pests and outdoor invasive species.
But the routine use of neonic seeds as insurance rather than as a targeted treatment for a specific infestation is a dangerous mistake, the Finger Lakes Regional Watershed Alliance said in a recent letter to Hochul.
“While they may protect a farm against an unanticipated insect attack, their benefits as an insurance policy against these relatively rare occurrences are grossly outweighed by the clear and unrelenting damage they inflict on the environment,” FLRWA said in a letter signed by seven of its nine board members.
Neonics have been linked to bee colony collapses and die-offs of other pollinators that jeopardize production of apples, pumpkins, squash and tomatoes.
“Last year, the average New York beekeeper lost over 45 percent of their honey bee colonies — one of the worst years on record,” a coalition of 350 groups and individuals wrote Hochul in September.
The insecticides also work their way into waterways and up the food chain to harm birds and fish. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found in 2022 that more than three-quarters of all endangered plant and animal species are likely affected by neonics.
Meanwhile, a 2020 Cornell University study found that “neonicontinoid-treated corn and soybean seeds do not consistently increase” farm profits.
But the Farm Bureau and business groups staunchly oppose a partial ban. “Many times, these are…
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