Crop Profiles
Crop profiles were initiated by the Office of Pest Management Policy in May 1998. Each crop profile describes how a commodity is produced, with emphasis on critical pest management needs - including the role of pesticides in integrated pest management (IPM) and resistance management programs. See the description below the table for more information on how crop profiles are used. We also have a list of specialists available for specific questions on the Colorado crop contacts page.
Please fill out this form if you wish to initiate or contribute to a crop profile in Colorado.
Click on the map beside each crop listed below
to see the counties of production.
For a complete list of crop profiles by each state, click
here.
Currently there are over 400 crop profiles and several Pest Management Strategic Plans available, proving a wealth of information in one place. According to EPA, "the profiles are utilized on nearly a daily basis throughout the Office of Pesticide Programs in a myriad of ways."
EPA's Biological and Economic Analysis Division (BEAD) finds the profiles to contain valuable information for analyses supporting registration, reregistration, tolerance reassessment, emergency exemptions, and reduced risk decisions. BEAD has found the information contained in the crop profiles to be "extremely useful as we conduct reregistration and tolerance reassessment activities." BEAD uses the profiles as a "source of vital information for identifying major pests and pesticide use patterns and an excellent source to identify key crop experts and valuable regional information. Their availability has led to more informed decisions regarding pesticide use patterns, cropping practices and regional distribution of production."
Examples where crop profiles have directly impacted an EPA assessment (either risk or benefits):
Recently, EPA "was engaged in negotiations with a registrant (agri-chemical company) over strategies to reduce the risk associated with the use of an insecticide on peaches. The registrant proposed to voluntarily cancel all uses of this insecticide on peaches grown east of the Mississippi River in order to mitigate some of the identified risks due to the use of this chemical. Information found in the crop profile from North Carolina indicated that this particular active ingredient was used on a substantial portion of the peach acreage grown there. Subsequent contacts with knowledgeable experts from North Carolina and some neighboring states further detailed the importance of this crop protection tool to peach producers east of the Mississippi River. Armed with that information, the Agency ultimately chose not to accept the registrant's proposal and that use remains today."
Another recent example was the review of a quarantine exemption request (Section 18) from USDA for use of spinosad on olives in California to control the newly introduced olive fruit fly. "Of particular use from the profile was the information on cultural practices and the detailed listing of the major insect pests and available insecticides. Information from the profile served as the basis for granting the quarantine exemption and allowing olive growers to avoid a potentially disastrous situation."
These comments are taken from a letter written to the Western IPM Center by Denise M. Keehner, Director Biological and Economic Analysis Division of EPA.
