Scientists Nominated for EPA’s Scientific Advisory Panel

The NCC, with the support of several other cotton organizations, submitted a letter regarding nominations to EPA for the agency’s Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel.

Published: March 29, 2018
Updated: March 29, 2018

March 23, 2018

Office of Pesticide Policy
Regulatory Public Docket (28221T)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC  20460

RE: Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0617

Dear Ms. Gibson:

The National Cotton Council (NCC) and the undersigned organizations appreciate the opportunity to provide nominations on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) notice “Meetings: Federal Insecticide Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel; Nomination of Ad Hoc Expert Members.”  We have identified nominees that are extremely qualified for the criteria requested on EPA’s SAP web site regarding “Resistance in Lepidopteran Pests to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Plant Incorporated Protectants.”  On March 5, 2018, the Agency published a Federal Register notice requesting nominations of experts to serve as ad hoc members on the July 17-20, 2018 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP) meeting to consider and review resistance in Lepidopteran Pests to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Plant Incorporated Protectants in the U.S.

The NCC is the central organization of the United States cotton industry.  Its members include producers, ginners, cottonseed processors and merchandizers, merchants, cooperatives, warehousers and textile manufacturers.  A majority of the industry is concentrated in 17 cotton-producing states stretching from California to Virginia. U.S. cotton producers cultivate between 9 and 12 million acres of cotton with production averaging 12 to 18 million 480-lb bales annually. The downstream manufacturers of cotton apparel and home furnishings are located in virtually every state. Farms and businesses directly involved in the production, distribution and processing of cotton employ more than 125,000 workers and produce direct business revenue of more than $21 billion.  Annual cotton production is valued at more than $5.5 billion at the farm gate, the point at which the producer markets the crop.  Accounting for the ripple effect of cotton through the broader economy, direct and indirect employment surpasses 280,000 workers with economic activity of almost $100 billion. In addition to the cotton fiber, cottonseed products are used for livestock feed and cottonseed oil is used as an ingredient in food products as well as being a premium cooking oil.

The NCC would like to nominate the following individuals to serve as ad hoc expert members on EPA’s Scientific Advisory Panel:

Dr. B. Rogers Leonard
Associate Vice President
Program Leader for Plants, Soils, & Ag. Water Resources
G & H Seed Company Endowed Professor
Louisiana State University Agricultural Center
104 J. Norman Efferson Hall
Baton Rouge, LA 70803-0106
Off: (225) 578-4182
Cell: (318) 334-0147
Email: rleonard@agcenter.lsu.edu

Dr. B. Rogers Leonard is the Louisiana State University (LSU) Agricultural Center’s Associate Vice President for plant, soil, and agricultural water research and extension programs.  In this position, he has oversight for scientists working in the disciplines of agricultural chemistry, agronomy, horticulture, environmental sciences, crop protection, agricultural economics, and renewable and natural resources. He interfaces with State, regional, and National plant commodity organizations; agricultural and environmental resource agencies; and USDA programs.  Dr. Leonard also holds an appointment as Professor in the Department of Entomology and continues to work with students.  He received a BS in Agronomy, MS in Entomology, and PhD in Entomology from LSU.  Dr. Leonard maintained multi-disciplinary research and extension programs at Research Centers and also in the LSU Department of Entomology for over 27 years.  Dr. Leonard has considerable experience evaluating a range of pest management strategies in field corn, cotton, and soybean.  His focus areas included sustainable crop production, integrated pest management (IPM) and insect resistance management.  He also worked in the areas of pesticide toxicology, pesticide safety, and agricultural biotechnology.   His extension outreach programs involved on-farm verification and demonstration projects for IPM.  Dr. Leonard was a team member with the Mid-South Entomologists and associated with the development of mitigation plans for insecticide resistance in cotton pests.  He served on editorial boards or as reviewer for a variety of scientific journals and on grant review boards for public and private agencies.  During his career, he authored or co-authored nearly 1100 scientific, technical and outreach articles and mentored 66 graduate students.  In 2006, he was named to the Jack Hamilton Regents Chair in Cotton Production and recently received the G &H Seed Company Endowed Professorship.   Dr. Leonard served the Entomological Society of America at both regional and national levels and represented the Plant Insect-Ecosystems    (P-IE) Section as President in 2012.

Dr. Charles Allen
Professor, Extension Entomologist & Associate Department Head of Entomology

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
7887 U.S. Highway 87 North
San Angelo, TX  76901
Phone:  325-657-7329
Email
:  CTAllen@ag.tamu.edu

Dr. Charles Allen is Associate Department Head – Extension Entomology, and Extension Entomologist for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. He has degrees in Biology (BS) and Entomology (MS) from Texas Tech University and in Entomology from Louisiana State University (Ph.D.). He has served as an Extension Entomologist and conducted applied research on agricultural crops in three Texas districts and a district in Arkansas, taught at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and served as Program Director for the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation (2000-2009). From 2009-2016 he served as the Coordinator of the Texas IPM Program and has led the Entomology Program Unit for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service since 2012.

Dr. Steve Martin
Associate Director & Extension Professor, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Mississippi State University Extension Service
190 North Bost
Mississippi State, MS  39762
Phone: 662-325-3034
Email: steve.martin@msstate.edu

Dr. Steve Martin is Associate Director & Extension Professor of Agriculture and Natural Resource for Mississippi State University’s (MSU) Extension Service.  His programs have focused on crop economic issues of concern to producers and the agricultural industry. Specifically, projects have included crop marketing; precision agriculture; new technologies both mechanical and biological; water and tillage systems.  Prior to being Associate Director, Dr. Martin was Head of the North MS Research and Extension Center from 2013-2015 and before that was Head of the Delta Research Extension Center from 2008-2012.  From 2000-2008 he worked as an agricultural economist for MSU’s Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, MS.  Dr. Martin received his Bachelors in Agricultural Extension and Education, Masters in Business Administration, and Ph. D. in Agricultural Economics all from MSU.

Dr. Randall G. Luttrell, Retired
Formerly Research Leader, USDA ARS Southern Insect Management Research Unit
141 Experiment Station Road, P.O. Box 346
Stoneville, Mississippi    38776
Phone: (662) 686-5231
Mobile: (662) 820-7664
E-mail: randy.luttrell@ars.usda.gov

Dr. Randall (Randy) Luttrell is a retired USDA ARS Research Leader and a former Professor of Entomology at the University of Arkansas and Mississippi State University.  In his position as Research Leader of the Southern Insect Management Research Unit, he also served as Acting Research Leader of the National Biological Control Laboratory and participated in a short detail to the ARS National Program Staff. He previously held administrative positions as Acting Head of the Department of Entomology at Mississippi State University and Associate Dean of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas. His university research was primarily conducted in cooperation with graduate students and his role as a teacher and student advisor are among his most significant accomplishments.  His research focused on insect pest management and ecological control of pests attacking southern field crops, especially those of cotton, corn, and soybean in the Midsouth.  He has authored and coauthored numerous scientific publications dealing with microbial control, application technology, insect resistance, and susceptibility of lepidopteran pests to Bt crops. He is a native of Bowie County, Texas, and he is a graduate of Texas A&M University and the University of Arkansas.  He and his wife Connee currently live on Lake Chicot in Southeast Arkansas.

Thank you for allowing the NCC and the undersigned organizations to provide nominations in response to EPA’s notice “Meetings: Federal Insecticide Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel; Nomination of Ad Hoc Expert Members.”

Respectfully,

National Cotton Council of America
Louisiana Cotton and Grain Association
Texas Cotton Producers organization representing:

           Plains Cotton Growers

           Rolling Plains Cotton Growers Association

           Southern Rolling Plains Cotton Growers Association

           St. Lawrence Cotton Growers Association

           Blacklands Cotton and Grain Association

           South Texas Cotton and Grain Association

           Lower Rio Grande Valley Cotton and Grain Association

           Trans Pecos Cotton Growers

           El Paso Valley Cotton Growers

Delta Council