Since the 1940s, farmers and landscapers alike have used synthetic pesticides that are sprayed on plants and crops. But in the early 1990s, a new class of pesticides came on the market that can be coated on the seeds of crops instead. As those seeds sprout and the plants grow, the pesticide is taken up internally throughout every part of the crop. No spraying required.
These newer pesticides are called neonicotinoids, or “neonics,” and they are now the most widely used pesticides globally. So it is significant that New York has become the first state to pass a law that bans them. This new law, the Birds and Bees Protection Act, was signed by the governor in late 2023 and follows similar restrictions enacted in the European Union and Canada in response to concerns about the impact of neonic pesticides on the environment.
A problem with neonic pesticides is that they are also toxic to other non-pest insects that play important roles in agriculture and ecosystems, including bees and other pollinators. On top of that, neonicotinoid compounds are stable and can last in the environment for many years.
This means repeated use can lead to accumulation in the soil, waterways, and different animals as the pesticide gets carried up the food chain, says Kate Susman, a professor of biology at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie. “Those insects that eat it and survive are going to have it throughout their bodies, and then the birds that eat the caterpillars — the songbirds, the amphibians — are going to be exposed to that toxin,” Susman says. “So, it has this ecological impact on the whole ecosystem.”
Susman has studied neonics in her lab, and also discussed them on her podcast, Toxic Lawn! With colleagues from Marist College (also in Poughkeepsie), Susman and her students looked at the effect of a common neonic pesticide on nematodes, tiny worms that play an important role in soil ecology. Nematodes are also useful to researchers for modeling many developmental and neurological processes that happen in humans.
Although nematodes are not insects, Susman’s group found that the neonic pesticide still had a similar effect on them: stunted growth, reproductive problems, and neurological damage (neonics are designed to act as a neurotoxin). “Our study of a soil organism contributes to the growing awareness that, first of all, these things are not specific to insects,” Susman says. “They can have widespread and long-lasting effects on a whole bunch of organisms.”
What was even more surprising to Susman’s group was that some of the effects from neonics were passed on to nematode offspring that were never exposed. “It affected the next generation,” Susman says. “Those offspring had defects in their reproductive tracts.”
Other types of studies on neonic pesticide use were the focus of a big effort from Cornell University’s Dyce Lab for Honey Bee Studies. In 2020, they released a 432-page report summarizing findings from 550 neonic studies on the economic benefits and risks to pollinators in comparison to other pesticides. The report laid out how the risks and benefits “vary based on numerous factors such as neonicotinoid type, crop or pest system, application method and timing, and landscape context.”
This Cornell report, commissioned by New York’s Environmental Protection Fund, was largely the impetus for the legislation that became written into the state’s Birds and Bees Protection Act.
Specifically, New York’s new law will prohibit the general sale and distribution of corn, soybean, or wheat seeds coated with any of five major neonicotinoid compounds, beginning on day one of 2027. The law also prohibits the use of neonic pesticides for non-agricultural purposes, beginning in mid-2025 for three of the neonic compounds, or immediately for the other two.
It’s not a full ban on neonic pesticides, as it does allow for exceptions as deemed necessary by the Departments of Environmental Conservation and Agriculture & Markets. For example, injecting neonics into the stem of hemlock trees, a critical component of many New York forests, targets an insect that’s killing the hemlocks but limits exposure of other animals to neonics. But the ban is expected to eliminate the majority of neonic pesticide use in the state.
Although this new restriction may seem like an obvious win for the environment, it also raises concerns that neonics for home and agricultural use will just be replaced by new pesticides that could also carry their own environmental and health risks, or older pesticides that have to be sprayed and are already known to be problematic.
“I’m hearing from farmers across the state that this legislation is a step backwards in terms of both environmental protections and efficiency,” says David Fisher, New York Farm Bureau Board president, noting that this could amount to an increase in overall pesticide use. “Spraying also requires specialized equipment, extra mechanical activity in crop fields, and is more time-intensive,” he adds. “That may lead to lower crop yields, increased costs of operations, and damage to critical parts of the surrounding ecosystems.”
Looking ahead to 2027, this raises two important questions: Will changes from the Birds and Bees Protection Act have enough of an impact to motivate the seed and pesticide industry to develop better alternatives? And, in the meantime, how will farmers in New York adapt to the new law?
“While New York is prominent nationally in agriculture, we produce less than 1% of the corn and soy grown in the country. With such a small market for seed companies in New York, there are valid concerns that these companies may pull out of New York because of the costs of the state’s regulatory environment, leaving farmers with fewer options for seed purchases,” Fisher says.
“Farmers are great at adapting to new technology, and we are always looking for ways to reduce our environmental footprint,” Fisher also notes. “As always, farmers will continue to use integrated pest management tools to reduce the unnecessary use of pesticides and follow guidelines set by environmental regulatory agencies when it comes to using crop protectants of all types.”
Although New York’s law alone may not directly impact the global seed and pesticide markets, it is causing ripples in other ways. Across the state border, New York’s law prompted Vermont to enact a similar law in June of 2024. Other states are moving to curb neonics, too. Together, these new restrictions will eventually create more demand for better alternatives.
In the meantime, lawmakers in New York hope the new law, along with its exceptions, produces the right balance between agricultural needs, invasive species control, and environmental conservation.
