MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – The Vermont Senate Friday passed a bill aimed at protecting bees and other pollinators from toxic pesticides.
Neonicotinoids, or neonics, are one of the most frequently used kinds of pesticides in the U.S. They’re typically used to treat seeds like corn and soy to keep pests at bay. According to Vermont’s 2022 seed report, 53% of seeds sold in Vermont that year were treated with neonics.
H. 706 would restrict neonic-treated seeds and several other neonic uses in the coming years. If approved, Vermont would be the second state to significantly regulate neonics, right on the heels of a similar law in New York passed in December.
Some groups have said approval would make it more difficult for farmers to keep pests at bay and that crop yields will dwindle as a result.
The bill was approved by a 25 – 2 margin and now heads to the governor, who has expressed reservations about the measure in the past.