A pesticide survey for fruits, undertaken by the United States Department of Agriculture's National Statistics Service (USDA - NASS), is to be reinstated after being initially abandoned in April 2007 due to budgetary constraints.
The news will be welcomed by the agricultural industry and by environmental groups, who opposed the move to scrap the survey two years ago, according to a report in the Capital Press.
'It was found very quickly to be the only source of unbiased information,' said Joe Reilly, associate administrator of the NASS, who added that the USDA want to track several crops on a rotating basis once more.
Funding to reinstate the full programme in 2010 is part of US President Barack Obama's proposed budget, according to Mr Reilly.
The move to reinstate the survey has been backed by numerous agricultural groups as they previously relied on the data included to register pesticides with environmental protection agency.
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