Arizona State Senator Tim Dunn (R-LD29) is challenging a recent Cronkite News article that has now been republished across Arizona, arguing the piece spread “misleading and unscientific claims” about pesticide use, worker safety, and the state’s agriculture industry.

The Cronkite News article, “The human cost of Yuma’s vegetable empire,” published Nov. 5, 2025, portrays farmworkers in Yuma walking into fields shortly after nighttime pesticide applications. The story states that “aerial spray crews work under the cover of darkness” and cites advocates who claim that such exposure places workers at increased risk of “diabetes, cancer, endocrine disorders and other long-term health issues.”

Cronkite News is a professional-style reporting bureau operated by Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, where student journalists produce stories under faculty supervision for academic credit. Although it functions as a university training program rather than an independent newsroom, its work is distributed through Arizona PBS and routinely republished by major outlets across the state, giving student-produced reporting statewide reach and influence.

Dunn says the framing is false and leaves out critical scientific and regulatory context.

“Arizona farmers take enormous pride in the safety of their workers, their fields, and the food they produce,” Dunn said. “Seeing an article built almost entirely from an unvetted activist narrative presented as fact — and circulated statewide — is not just disappointing, it’s harmful to the families who feed this country.”

The Cronkite article makes several central assertions that Dunn and agriculture experts say mischaracterize how pesticides are used in Arizona. Among them:

• The article claims farmers spray pesticides “under the cover of darkness,” implying secrecy or evasiveness.
• It suggests farmworkers routinely enter sprayed fields only “a few hours later,” potentially exposing them to unsafe conditions.
• It cites research linking pesticides used in vegetable production to broad chronic health effects.
• It presents a narrative that Arizona’s agricultural labor force faces heightened health risks due to pesticide use and inadequate regulatory oversight.

According to Dunn, the article is based heavily on interviews with activist organizations, including farmworker-advocacy groups, and cites university studies without referencing the federally funded Agriculture Health Study — the most comprehensive long-term research project on the subject.

Dunn says the Cronkite framing ignores the reason nighttime spraying occurs in the first place.

“The article suggests some kind of stealth operation,” Dunn said. “In reality, nighttime applications are a well-established safety practice. Winds are calmer at night, workers are not in the fields, and pollinators have returned to their hives.”

In addition to improved application accuracy and reduced drift, nighttime spraying allows farmers to avoid heat-related risks and minimize disruption to daytime harvesting and field operations, according to the lawmaker.

Dunn argues that the article omits key regulatory safeguards governing pesticide use in the United States, specifically in Arizona.

“Pesticide products undergo years of EPA review,” Dunn noted, adding, “Applicators in Arizona operate under some of the toughest rules in the world — with mandatory licensing, continuing education, record-keeping, and strict re-entry intervals. The article left that reality out entirely.”

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, all registered pesticide products must undergo extensive toxicology testing, environmental-impact analysis, and ongoing review cycles. “The Worker Protection Standard requires agricultural employers to keep workers out of areas where pesticides have been applied until the restricted-entry interval (REI) has expired. REIs are specified on pesticide labels and can range from 4 to 72 hours or longer depending on the product.”

— U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Worker Protection Standard: Restrictions to Protect Workers After Pesticide Applications

According to Dunn, none of this regulatory framework was included or referenced in the Cronkite article.

The Cronkite article cites broad claims linking pesticides to diabetes, cancer, fertility issues, and developmental disorders. Dunn says those claims overstate what long-term research has actually shown.

The federally funded Agriculture Health Study — one of the largest and most comprehensive pesticide exposure studies ever conducted — “has not established the causal links promoted by activist groups,” Dunn said. “The Cronkite article did not acknowledge that distinction.”

Dunn says the real issue is newsroom credibility.

“It’s one thing for a student to interview activists,” he said. “It’s another for major Arizona news outlets to republish the entire piece without basic verification or scientific context.”

He also raised concerns about public institutions training the next generation of journalists.

“Yuma farmers feed millions of American families every winter,” Dunn said. “The least the media can do is practice responsible journalism anchored in facts — not activist talking points dressed up as news. It’s time newsrooms, and the public institutions training future journalists, did better.”