In past articles, I shared updates regarding the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has engaged in creating a new framework for pesticides going through the reregistration process. The “strategies” as we know them: the herbicide strategy, insecticide strategy and soon to be fungicide strategy outline specific actions landowners, applicators and operators need to take when applying pesticides to prevent the pesticide from jeopardizing or adversely modifying the listed species or the listed species’ critical habitat through pesticide runoff, erosion or spray drift.
As the industry anticipates more products with ESA requirements on the label for the 2026 growing season, let’s focus on what compliance looks like now that this year’s growing season is in full swing and farmers are nearing the end of soybean herbicide applications.
Most Liberty Ultra applications have been made at this point in the season; therefore, if an application was made, what must applicators do to stay compliant and ensure that they’ve abided by ESA label requirements?
The link below leads to the EPA pesticide mitigation menu website of the mitigation relief points. The website shows how many points there are for implementing specific practices or having the soil or field slope properties needed to satisfy these points.
The website also includes a chart outlining the runoff erosion mitigation options along with the point value associated with them. As a reminder, the Liberty Ultra label requires three points, but as the herbicide strategy outlines, a nine-point maximum could be seen in the future with other products. 
One practice that achieves the automatic maximum nine-point value is the United States Department of Agriculture National Resource Conservation Services Environmental Quality Incentive Program, or conservation program standard 595 pest management conservation system, with the additional criteria for water quality. By engaging in this specific plan, all nine mitigation points are automatically achieved; other conservation programs account for two mitigation points.
Another example is looking at a field that has moderately sandy soils filled with 10% to 20% clay and 50% to 90% sand in the hydraulic soil group B, which would receive two points automatically for having a field with that predominantly soil type. Another point would be received for tracking the mitigation points. Another three points would be achieved for being a no-till operation and having a dryland soybean field is an additional three points. This achieves the nine-point mitigation point maximum needed per the herbicide strategy by just having the soil type, documenting mitigation points, using a no-till approach to the operation and having a dryland soybean field. Although a farmer only needs three mitigation points to use Liberty Ultra this year in the 2025 crop season, the best practice is to go ahead and find the nine mitigation points, as you will be covered for other pesticides going through the registration process that could have higher point values assigned to them.
EPA has a mitigation calculator on its website, along with a pesticide runoff erosion mitigation points worksheet. This worksheet outlines field name descriptions and mitigation point by point so that you can go through and assign point values for your field. Although these documents are not mandatory, they do serve as a great way to keep clients organized on a field and farm level.
Access the Mitigation Menu: https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/mitigation-menu
