New Act Immediately Bans Diquat Pesticide, Revokes All Food Residue Limits Overnight

The “Protect Our Farmers and Families Act of 2025” is short, direct, and pulls no punches: it immediately bans the widely used pesticide diquat across the board. The bill achieves this by declaring diquat an agent that causes “unreasonable harm to the environment” under existing federal law (FIFRA). This finding triggers a mandatory, immediate cancellation of every single registration for diquat use. If enacted, this isn't a phase-out; it's a hard stop, impacting everything from agricultural production to the supply chain.

The Instant End of Diquat Use

This legislation doesn't just stop future sales; it slams the brakes on everything right now. Section 2 requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator to immediately cancel all existing registrations for diquat. Crucially, the bill explicitly overrides the typical provision in FIFRA that allows farmers to use up existing stocks after a ban is announced. This means if a farmer has a pallet of diquat in the barn for pre-harvest desiccation (drying crops like potatoes or soybeans), they are prohibited from using it the moment this bill becomes law. For agricultural producers who rely on diquat for weed control or drying crops before harvest, this creates an immediate, medium-level economic challenge as they must pivot instantly to alternative, possibly more expensive or less effective, methods.

Zero Tolerance for Food Residue

Another major provision deals directly with food safety. Following the cancellation, the EPA must revoke all existing “tolerances” or exemptions that allow diquat residue to be present on food under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Think of tolerances as the legal limits for how much pesticide residue is acceptable on the apple or potato you buy at the grocery store. By revoking these, the bill moves the legal limit to zero. This is a huge win for consumers and public health advocates, as it ensures no food product can legally contain any detectable trace of the chemical. However, this immediate shift could cause short-term chaos in the supply chain, potentially affecting the legal status of already harvested or processed foods that were treated legally just days before the ban.

A Permanent Regulatory Lock

To ensure diquat stays gone, the bill includes a permanent regulatory lock. It explicitly forbids the EPA Administrator from ever re-approving or re-registering diquat in the future. This is a significant move, as it removes the ability for the chemical’s manufacturer to submit new data or uses to the EPA for review down the road. It signals a permanent policy decision against this specific chemical. While the bill’s stated intent is to protect farmers and families, the immediate nature of the ban—canceling existing stocks and revoking tolerances overnight—is the detail that will hit the hardest, forcing rapid, costly changes for farming operations that need to find substitute products and adjust their entire weed management and harvesting schedules instantly.