Farmers face high-stakes decisions every season—battling weeds, insects, and disease while protecting both yields and the land they depend on.
A new push from Growing Matters, called ‘BeSure!’ is aiming to help growers and applicators use crop protection products in a safe and most effective way when it matters most.
“This is a stewardship-focused initiative to try and raise awareness around the use of neonicotinoids, which are products used to help manage insects in our field crops,” says Nick Tinsley, Technical Field Representative for Seed Treatment with BASF.
He tells Michigan Ag Today why it’s important to practice proper stewardship.
“These products that we’re using to help manage insects are very important to our growers who are helping produce crops each year,” says Tinsley. “It’s important that we use these products in a way that emphasizes safety in the environment. So, whenever we’re using pesticides, there are always risks when we use them incorrectly.
“We want to encourage growers to really start by reading the label to make sure that they’re using these products in a way that doesn’t have any unintended consequences—like exposure to pollinators, wildlife, or nearby bodies of water,” he says.
When using crop protection tools, Tinsley says it’s always important to thoroughly read the label and follow its instructions.
“Growers and applicators need to follow proper handling, storage, and disposal of these products,” he says. “It’s also going to contain additional information about how to manage drift and buffer zones—things that you might not be thinking about in the rush of planting time, but are very important to consider to make sure that we use these things in a way that are safe or both our communities and the broader agricultural system as a whole.”
Tinsley adds that the broader agricultural system includes America’s bee population.
“Bees are incredibly important to our agricultural system and they operate in a special space,” he says. “We really want to make sure that anytime there are hives nearby and we have beekeeping operations, that were maintaining good communication with those beekeepers.”
“[The ‘BeSure!’ initiative] is really just being aware of what’s going on out in the environment and trying to use best practices to really minimize any impact outside of its intended use,” he says.
Growing Matters is a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to scientific discourse on the stewardship, benefits and alternatives of neonicotinoid insecticides in North America. The joint effort is led by Bayer CropScience, Syngenta, Valent U.S.A. LLC , BASF Agricultural Solutions and Mitsui Chemicals Crop & Life Solutions, Inc.
In 2013, the companies jointly commissioned a comprehensive evaluation of the economic and societal benefits of neonicotinoid insecticides to North American agriculture, as well trees, turf and landscape & production ornamentals.
In addition to the Growing Matters coalition of agricultural companies, the ‘BeSure!’ campaign is supported by the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), National Associate of State Departments of Agriculture Foundation (NASDA), NASDA Foundation, CropLife America, and the American Soybean Association.
As planting season accelerates across much of the country, advocates say the ‘BeSure!’ campaign is designed to meet farmers in the moment—when time is tight and decisions carry lasting consequences—by reinforcing that productivity and environmental responsibility are not mutually exclusive. By emphasizing careful product use, communication with neighboring operations, and attention to label guidance, the Growing Matters coalition hopes the initiative will strengthen long-term sustainability in agriculture while maintaining the tools growers rely on to protect their crops and livelihoods.
Learn more about stewardship and the ‘BeSure!’ campaign at GrowingMatters.org/BeSure.
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