PORTLAND, Oregonâ(ENEWSPF)âOctober 17, 2014. A new study from the Environmental Protection Agency has found that the neonicotinoid seed coatings linked to massive bee die-offs â including the largest bumblebee die-off in history, where 25,000 bees died in a single incident in a Portland suburb â provide little to no benefits for soybean production. Neonicotinoids, highly toxic pesticides, are used as seed coating on 30 percent of the 76 million acres of soybeans harvested every year in the United States. While the EPA study focused on soybeans, millions of acres of other crops, such as wheat and corn, are also subjected to neonicotinoid seed treatments.
