This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at cpr.org.
A bill that was part of the Colorado Democrats’ environmental legislative agenda was defeated at the statehouse Thursday. Two Democratic Senators joined Republicans on the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources committee to vote down the SEED Act, which would have restricted pesticide-treated seeds that are widely used by farmers in Colorado and across the country.
“We do bills, we do hundreds of bills here every year. Some are pretty small; admittedly, they make little tweaks. This is not one of those bills. This is a big step. And I don't feel like the conversations and the engagement of both sides has happened,” said Committee Chair, Democratic Sen. Dylan Roberts of Frisco as he explained his no vote.
The pesticides at the heart of the question are a class of chemicals known as neonicotinoids, or neonics. Farmers primarily use them in the form of pre-treated seeds, which they argue is necessary to protect their crops from bugs like wireworm, which destroy the roots of corn seedlings. They’ve become nearly ubiquitous in commodity agriculture, used on millions of cropland acres in Colorado.
But agricultural scientists said the chemicals aren’t necessary and damage ecosystems. Neonicotinoids have been found in high levels in aquatic ecosystems, groundwater and wild vegetation. Scientists have also linked them to mass pollinator die-offs.
“Neonics are among the most devastating insecticides since DDT,” said Allison Johnson, a lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “They're extremely effective at killing insects, which is why a farmer might like to use them. But the impacts are not limited to insects.”
Advocates for the bill included beekeepers, organic growers, environmentalists and state agriculture officials in the Polis administration who said the pesticides were overused.
“Pesticides, including coated seeds, play an important role in agricultural production, particularly as we see … new pest pressures arising from a changing climate and other environmental stressors,” said Jordan Beezley, deputy commissioner of external affairs at the Colorado Department of Agriculture. “But they are not necessary all of the time.”
The intent of Senate Bill 65 was to require a third-party expert to sign off before farmers could buy the seeds — akin to getting a prescription from a doctor. But opponents had concerns about how the policy would be implemented, and farmers and groups representing the agriculture industry testified against it.
Studies show they provide little to no economic benefit to farmers, because any modest value gained from a yield boost is offset by the cost of the chemicals. But many farmers said neonicotinoid-treated seeds are vital to their operations.
“Neonicotinoids—they’re a critical tool for us,” said Robert Williams, a corn farmer in Montrose. “We have actually attempted to use untreated seed before and have had catastrophic failures due to corn seed maggot.”
This was the first time Colorado legislators tried to restrict neonics in agricultural settings. A law regulating them in most commercial and urban environments went into effect in 2024.
Sen. Roberts, in part, faulted the Colorado Department of Agriculture under the Polis administration for not doing more outreach on the bill to bring various stakeholders together to work on a viable solution.
“He's had eight years for his administration to be out there trying to move this ball forward with voluntary measures or with more measured steps rather than this giant step.”
Roberts, who has young children, said he was particularly moved by the testimony from the pediatricians who testified in support of the bill and warned of the health impacts of neonics.
“I'm convinced that we need to do something about toxins in our environment and in our bodies and in wildlife,” said Roberts.
Democratic Sen. Nick Hinrichsen from Pueblo was the other Democratic no vote.
“I think there is a challenge in assessing the breadth of the problem, and therefore I think it becomes hard to prescribe a solution,” he said.
Hinrichsen said he was also sympathetic to farmers who are operating on very thin margins; however, he said he is not necessarily opposed to regulating neonics altogether and urged the agricultural community to keep conversations going.
“I would like to see more work in this area. And I would like to see folks come to the table with some proposals and ideas and not just a guttural rejection of regulations.”
