Pesticide label integrity is fortified by a new Georgia law.

The Georgia Urban Agriculture Council was pleased to be the voice for our members and Georgia's nearly $11-billion green industry by supporting SB 144, which Governor Kemp signed into law today, Monday, May 12. This law will help keep registered pesticide products available for our industry.

Our diverse members grow, install, and manage products and services for farmers and thousands of small businesses. Pesticide products are important to consumer landscapes, ranging from insecticides to control harmful plant insects, weed management in turfgrass and flower beds, and fungicides that impede plant production in ornamental and flowering trees and shrubs, just to name a few.

SB 144 benefits all U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registered pesticide products. There are many such industries in Georgia, including those used by us and others in providing landscape services, but it also includes sod farm operations, golf course management, home lawns, row crop agriculture, forestry practices, and pest control products. We rely on these products to improve productivity while facing diverse pest pressure conditions.

"The label is the law. As an industry that supports the safe use of pesticides, we continually stress the importance of following all label directions. It is important that federal registration parameters are clarified and that no other authorities may compel additional requirements to be added, or taken from, EPA approved product labels. As such, we fully support the process and role of the EPA and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in regulating pesticide registrations, including labelling," stated Georgia Urban Agriculture Council Executive Director Mary Kay Woodworth.

"We see the benefits of protecting the integrity of the registration process and we thank the Georgia General Assembly and Governor Kemp for their support of this policy."