CA Growers to Cease Use of Chlorpyrifos by December 31, 2020

Dow AgroSciences has reached an agreement with the State of California to cease the registration and sale of chlorpyrifos.

Terms for the agreement are as follows:

• Registrations allowed to lapse at the end of the year
• Dow AgroSciences will cease sales on November 8, 2019
• Dealers/distributors will cease sales on February 6, 2020
• Users can continue to use affected products until December 31, 2020
• Product take-back will occur through normal business practices/channels – with outreach to growers to explain the terms of continued use

Chlorpyrifos is an important tool farmers use as a part of their integrated pest management programs to protect California’s food supply from invasive species. It is used on more than 800,000 acres and more than 60 crops including tree nuts, vegetables, grapes, citrus, cotton and alfalfa, and the loss of the pesticide will make it even more difficult for farmers to continue grow safe, healthy and abundant food.

Western Growers encourages the State of California to quickly develop alternative products to replace the loss of this important crop protection tool.