WHEREAS, much work has been undertaken over the past five decades to ensure that pesticides marketed for general use carry the least unintended harm to humans, animals and beneficial insects; and

WHEREAS, included in the neonicotinoid group is the pesticide imidacloprid, which was first registered for use in the United States in 1992 and has a wide range of target pests and sites, and is effective in protecting vegetables, pome fruits, potatoes, cereals and turf; and

WHEREAS, a number of insecticide products in the “neonicotinoid” group are classified as being for general use and have been registered under the EPA’s Conventional Reduced Risk Program due to their favorable toxicological profiles, and they play an important role in controlling a variety of insects in both agricultural and veterinary applications; and

WHEREAS, as a group, neonicotinoids are effective against sucking insects such as  aphids, leaf hoppers, whitefly  and thrips, as well as chewing insects such as termites, and larvae of beetles (wireworms and grubs) and some Lepidopteran pests, particularly cutworms; and

WHEREAS, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture and USDA effectively used imidacloprid to protect trees from attack by the Asian longhorned beetle during the eradication of that insect in two separate infestations in New Jersey; and

WHEREAS, the  formulations of  the neonicotinoids, clothianidin (GrubEx®), (Arena®), imidacloprid (Merit®), and thiamethoxam (Meridian™); are widely used by homeowners and golf course managers to protect turfgrass from Japanese beetle grub damage; and

WHEREAS, another insecticide included in the neonicotinoid group is dinotefuran, which is effective on a broad spectrum of insects infesting vegetable, fruit and fiber crops, and which was granted Organophosphorous Alternative and Reduced Risk Status by the EPA; and

WHEREAS, the “Scorpion® and Venom®” formulations of dinotefruan are relied upon by New Jersey’s peach and apple growers to protect their crops against the invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug; and

WHEREAS, imidacloprid is widely used against a number of veterinary parasites such as fleas, flies and lice on domestic dogs and cats and livestock; and  

WHEREAS, while neonicotinoids are a factor in the debate over the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) among honeybees, no single, identifiable cause of CCD has been determined by widespread research into that phenomenon; and

WHEREAS, neonicotinoid insecticides already come in containers with label instructions that address their potential impacts to honeybee colonies.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we , the delegates to the 99^th State Agricultural Convention, assembled in Atlantic City, New Jersey on  February 5-6, 2014, do hereby urge the Department to support the continued use of neonicotinoid pesticides for the agricultural and veterinary applications they have been used for to date.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we oppose legislation to ban the use of neonicotinoids, as the scientific evidence does not support that the drawbacks of using neonicotinoids substantially outweigh the benefits, and since the EPA has conveyed upon them a “Reduced Risk” designation.