Turner Bridgforth brought his agricultural roots to Washington D.C., aiming to build trust with farmers and tackle regulatory backlogs — but how fast can change come?
Turner Bridgforth didn’t grow up in D.C. He grew up in a town so small, he joked, “we could probably fill up the whole city hall with just the people in this room.”
Now, with just under 80 days under his belt as the EPA’s senior advisor for Agricultural Rural Affairs, he finds himself working from the inside — inside the agency, inside the Beltway and, as he puts it, inside “the house.”
Bridgforth’s role is to bring agricultural concerns into EPA policy conversations — something many in the seed and agriculture sectors have long pushed for in D.C. He serves as a liaison between farm stakeholders and agency leadership, managing a federal advisory committee on rural affairs, coordinating with advisors across all 10 EPA regions, and acting as a point of contact for ag-specific issues like pesticide approvals, seed treatment regulation and clean water initiatives.
“I try to take what I learned from home and what I learned the last nine years inside the house,” he said to a full room at the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Leadership Summit in Washington D.C. “It truly is an honor to represent the thousands of men and women working six inches of topsoil into the most productive land in the world.”
A Familiar Message — But With New Urgency
Bridgforth’s remarks came as part of a broader update on EPA activities under the Trump administration. His central message was that the agency is committed to working more efficiently with agriculture — and, in his words, “open for business.”
“The main I want to drive across is the EPA is open for business, ready to meet our customers, ready to hear from you about your concerns and possible solutions,” he said.
That outreach comes at a time of heightened pressure around pesticide regulations, chemical backlogs and permitting delays. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, appointed earlier this year, has laid out a five-pillar ‘Powering the Great American Comeback’ initiative, covering everything from clean air and energy dominance to permitting reform and AI development.
“Farmers and ranchers are the first and foremost stewards of the environment,” he said. “Their partnership is critical to ensuring clean air and water for all.”
But the rollout of those goals hasn’t been without challenges.
Tackling the Backlog — and the Expectations
The EPA has long struggled with delays in reviewing new crop protection products and chemical registrations. That backlog has only grown in recent years, raising frustration among developers, retailers, and producers who rely on timely access to safe, effective inputs.
“Right now, we’ve got a little over 14,000 open actions,” Bridgforth said. “To give a specific number, 2,281 of those being important PRIA (Pesticide Registration Improvement Act) cases, and 3,616 of those being non-PRIA notifications and amendments.”
He acknowledged that “we’re late in reviewing a lot of these cases,” noting that delays translate directly into “lost money and productivity for businesses and our nation’s farmers.”
Since Jan. 20, the agency has reportedly reduced the backlog by more than 2,300 actions. But many questions remain about how sustainable those gains are —vand whether long-term staffing, funding and scientific infrastructure are adequate to address the scope of the problem.
To that end, EPA is undergoing what Bridgeworth called a “reorganizational effort,” aimed at modernizing the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). That includes hiring new staff, expanding IT capacity and increasing internal coordination on reviews.
“This makes us more efficient and really sets this program up for success for the years to come,” he said. “We’re doing it in a way that’s going to enhance the science and the tools we use.”
Treated Seed Policy and the ESA Challenge
Bridgforth provided updates on the agency’s review of treated seed policies, which continue to evolve as more data and public feedback come in.
“The Health Effects Division (HED) is looking at ways to further refine modeling exposure assumptions to include real-world data,” he said. “We’re expecting to have updates to share in 2026.”
Seed treatment has been a flashpoint issue in recent years, particularly in discussions around pollinator health, environmental exposure, and the legal status of treated seeds under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
A Farm Visit and a Field of Peanuts
Bridgforth used an anecdote to illustrate how agriculture can still be a mystery in Washington.
“I think it was my second or third week on the job. We were in Georgia, at a cotton and peanut farm,” he said. “The administrator — who’s from Long Island — walked out into this field, and he goes, ‘What am I looking at?’”
Bridgforth said he pointed out the rows — one bed of peanuts, another of cotton — and then gave what he believes was his most effective explanation of how agriculture works:
“From spring to summer, it’s when farmers put their money in the ground. From summer to fall, they watch and take care of their money. And from fall onward, they pick up their money.”
That metaphor, he said, helped the administrator connect the dots between EPA policy and its impact on the ground.
Still a Long Road Ahead
Bridgforth acknowledged the EPA still has a lot of work to do — on chemicals, on transparency, on stakeholder trust. And while he’s only been in the role for a few months, he said that words and plans aren’t enough.
“Farmers are excited for this administration to be here,” he said. “But I think with trade concerns, with the opportunities of markets, uncertainty — they’re looking for a leading voice here.”
