The continued availability of agricultural chemicals used to protect crops from ­harmful pests and diseases is jeopardized from many angles. Costs rise as a result of intensive testing and regulatory requirements imposed by government on chemical manufacturers and formulators; environmental activists fly to court to seek bans on usage; consumers are smothered with emotional stories in the national media about exposure to dietary risk; and state funding is slashed for supportive university research and Extension. Those in the specialty crop part of American agriculture are especially exposed to these problems. As federal regulatory and new chemistry discovery costs rise, it […]