Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott vetoed a bill to strictly limit the use of pesticides toxic to bees and other pollinators, saying the legislation was “more anti-farmer than pro-pollinator.”
The bill would ban the use of neonicotinoids, commonly called neonics, and the sale or distribution of soybean seeds and crops coated with the substance. Pesticides are neurotoxins and are the most widely used class of insecticides in the world, lawmakers said.
Vermont’s Democratic-controlled Legislature could consider overriding the governor’s veto during a special session next month.
“It’s hard to believe that the Governor chose World Bee Day to veto this common-sense legislation designed to protect bees and other pollinators from toxic pesticides while supporting farmers through a just transition to safer alternatives,” Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Research Group public interests. , it said in a statement on Monday.
The Vermont Legislature passed the bill after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed what she called a nation-leading bill last year. sharply limit the use of neonics in her state.
Scott wrote in his veto message that nearly all corn seed sold in the country is treated with EPA-approved neonics and that Vermont produces about 90,000 acres of corn compared to 90 million acres in the United States.
“This will put Vermont farmers at a disadvantage,” he wrote, saying dairy farmers are facing rising costs and crop losses due to summer and winter flooding and last year’s spring frost.
He suggested the state closely monitor and study the issue to protect both family farms and pollinators.
Scott is expected to veto a number of bills, saying there is a lack of balance in the Legislature that prevents opposing views and data from being taken into account.
“This means that some bills are passed without thinking through all the consequences and therefore may do more harm than good,” he said in a statement Monday. “Due to the sheer number of bills passed in the last three days of the session, many will fall into this category.”