By Jamie Martin
A new report from the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) examines how PFAS contamination affects farmers and calls for a more targeted, science-based approach to evaluating risks in agriculture.
The paper, “PFAS in Agriculture: Science, Uncertainty, and Risk Communication,” will be released Friday, October 16, 2026. According to the report farmers and rural communities “find themselves at the center of a crisis largely not of their making,” bearing “disproportionate regulatory, economic, and reputational consequences when PFAS are detected.”
“Farmers are partners in risk reduction, not convenient downstream targets for contamination they did not cause,” says the report.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are often referred to as “forever chemicals” because of their persistence in the environment. Agricultural land can become contaminated through external sources, including industrial pollution, irrigation water, compost and biosolids.
When these substances are discovered in crops, soil, water or food, farmers and rural businesses may face costly testing, regulatory scrutiny and damage to their reputations.
The report questions policies that approach the thousands of PFAS compounds as though they present identical risks. The Environmental Protection Agency's PFAS structure list identifies 21,028 substances, but the most established evidence of harm centers on a smaller group of extensively studied chemicals, including PFOA and PFOS.
The authors emphasize that evaluating potential harm requires consideration of the chemical involved, the amount of exposure, its duration, and how exposure occurs.
The presence of trace PFAS concentrations in agricultural products or soils alone does not necessarily demonstrate a meaningful health risk, according to the paper.
The publication examines existing federal and state policies, including the EPA's 2025 Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment, 2026 draft biosolids guidance and a 2026 National Academies report developed for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It also considers legal disputes that may affect agricultural operations.
Recommended actions include addressing pollution at its original source, prioritizing testing for potentially higher-risk inputs, interpreting laboratory findings for individual compounds, and maintaining thorough documentation.
The report also encourages agricultural organizations and producers to participate in policymaking and communicate concerns promptly.
Entine, founder and executive director of the Genetic Literacy Project, and McDaniel, Vice President of AlterEcho and TechLaw Consultants Inc., will discuss the report. Redick, a retired environmental attorney with Global Environmental Ethics Counsel LLC, will lead the session.
Photo Credit: council-for-agricultural-science-and-technology
Categories: National