CAST, the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, has released an issue paper, PFAS in Agriculture: Science, Uncertainty, and Risk Communication, addressing one of the most significant environmental and regulatory challenges facing American agriculture. PFAS reach agricultural land through biosolids, compost, irrigation water and industrial contamination, yet farmers, composters, and rural communities often bear the regulatory, economic and reputational costs if PFAS are detected. The paper points out that there are thousands of chemicals in this class, and, consequently, detection does not equate with risk. Real-world risk depends on the specific compound, dose, duration, and exposure pathway. The authors review federal and state regulation, litigation, and EPA’s 2026 draft biosolids guidance, and they recommend source control, strategic testing, compound-by-compound interpretation, documentation, and early, credible risk communication.
