A draft of the Make America Healthy Again Commission’s final report circulating around Washington doesn’t appear to target pesticides, which would spell a potentially big win for production agriculture.

But the "Making Children Healthy Again" report does direct the EPA, USDA and other federal agencies to clear the way for increased adoption of conservation agriculture as a means to reform the nation's food system through reduced regulations, increased program funding and new partnerships with the private sector.

The final report is expected to be released soon. If the conclusions are the same as those contained in the draft report it will likely not please environmental groups, but will be a relief to farm stakeholders who were concerned about draconian regulations that would burden producers.

The draft document, shared recently by Politico, identifies four core problems the MAHA Commission believes is driving childhood chronic disease: poor diet; lack of physical activity and chronic stress; over-medicalization; and “chemical exposure” — although pesticides aren’t specifically identified as the root cause.

The draft report doesn’t call for an outright ban on pesticides or mention specific products or technologies such as glyphosate or atrazine. It also doesn’t mandate farmers to shift to certain farming practices such as organic farming to accomplish a reduction in pesticide use.

The report does conclude children are, “exposed to an increasing number of synthetic chemicals,” some of which have been linked to developmental issues and chronic disease. “The current regulatory framework should be continually evaluated to ensure that chemicals and other exposures do not interact together to pose a threat to the health of our children.”

The Commission did direct the EPA, USDA and National Institutes of Health to develop a “research and evaluation framework” for cumulative exposure across chemical classes. EPA research will focus on using non-animal methods (NAMs) and computational tools to improve methods for evaluating human health and environmental risks of chemical contaminants.

EPA will focus on pesticides acting through a common mode of action to fulfill its statutory obligations under FIFRA. EPA will also partner with food and agricultural stakeholders to ensure the public, “has awareness and confidence in EPA’s robust pesticide review procedures and how that relates to the limiting of risk for users and the general public.”

The report also identifies farming technology and deregulation as a potential solution to reducing pesticide use.

The Commission directs the USDA and EPA to prioritize research and programs to help growers adopt precision agricultural techniques, including remote sensing and precision application technologies that will help growers further reduce pesticide usage.

“These research and programs should emphasize ways in which precision technology can help to decrease pesticide volumes and have a significant financial benefit for growers,” the report asserts.

The report further directs the USDA and EPA to launch a partnership with “private-sector innovators” to ensure continued investment in new approaches and technologies to allow even more targeted and precise pesticide applications.

“These partnerships should focus on precision application methods, including targeted drone applications, computer-assisted targeted spray technology, robotic monitoring and related innovations,” the report says.

The report also identifies “soil health and stewardship” as a solution to addressing childhood health issues, with the USDA and EPA working to, “promote and incentivize farming solutions that focus on soil health.”

To keep these solutions voluntary, the Commission calls for expansion of the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), while avoiding burdensome mandates and keeping decision making, “local and practical with solutions from the farm, not Washington, D.C.”

The Commission wants to strengthen food security and production by prioritizing “shovel ready conservation projects” already planned by farmers, and prioritizing practices that farmers “want and trust” such as prescribed grazing, soil health systems and water management.

MAHA leaders also demanded reforms to the EPA’s approval processes, “for the full range of products to protects against weeds, pests and disease to increase the timely availability of more innovative growing solutions for farmers.”

For growers who have tried to eliminate the middleman in food distribution and partnered or purchased facilities could also see some relief. The Commission suggested increased categorical exclusions for, “low-volume meat processing operations” from water discharge and hazardous waste permitting.

The EPA would be directed to work with states to fast-track approvals to strengthen regional meat infrastructure and improve access to fresh protein in schools and communities.