As part of a pollinator plan announced last fall, the Minnesota Agriculture Department sought regulatory authority over seeds coated with neonicotinoids, blamed by some environmentalists for the decline in bee populations. Committees in the state House and Senate rejected the proposal, says Minnesota Public Radio.
Paul Anderson, the chairman of the House Agriculture Policy committee, said at a recent hearing that there was concern that state officials would cut down on the use of the insecticide-treated seeds. The so-called seed treatments are widely sold by corn and soybean seed companies as a protection against pests. Dust from the seeds, shaken loose during handling and planting, can drift onto nearby plants, exposing bees and other pollinating insects to the chemical.
A spokeswoman for the Minnesota Agriculture Department said that without legislative authority, the department cannot monitor where the neonic-coated seeds are used in the state or suggest practices that reliably reduce exposure to bees.