The pesticide agenda

A decision that the state overplayed its hand when it fined Ag-Mart $184,500 for improper use of pesticides should not be seen as a slam-dunk victory for the agribusiness giant. Nor should it signal the end of state efforts to protect farm workers, the environment and consumers from hazardous agricultural chemicals sprayed on North Carolina fields.

The decision by administrative law judge Beryl Wade came in response to a request for help from the state Pesticide Board. Due to the size and complexity of the 369 allegations of improper pesticide use filed against Ag-Mart, Wade was asked to make a recommendation on how the Pesticide Board should proceed.

Wade's advice was that most of the charges were invalid, primarily because, in her view, Ag-Mart's own records are too incomplete to prove the state's case. But while the company may have cheered the decision, state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler was undeterred: "The whole case has not been heard. We're going to stay with it."

Troxler's on-target comments make it clear this case has never been about the money. Indeed, while the $!84,500 fine grabbed headlines as the largest ever imposed for pesticide misuse in the state, it represents little more than a financial nuisance to a company the size of Ag-Mart.

But what the fine and Troxler's determination to proceed do signal is that North Carolina is serious about protecting those who work in its fields, those who eat the crops harvested from those fields and the very land itself.

Ag-Mart was charged with forcing employees to work in fields freshly sprayed with pesticides. Such exposure can damage nervous systems and cause birth defects. The company also was charged with harvesting tomatoes too soon after pesticides were applied.

The state should aggressively make its case before the Pesticide Board. It should also demand that the company keep accurate and complete records. Administrative incompetence is hardly a reassuring defense against serious allegations of dangerous pesticide misuse.