Losing access to the herbicide atrazine would be detrimental to both the farm economy and the environment, while setting a dangerous precedent for the future of crop management tools, National Corn Growers Association Board of Directors member Jim Zimmerman told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today at a field hearing on the impact of federal regulation on agriculture.
In June, the Environmental Protection Agency released its draft ecological risk assessment for atrazine, including recommendations that would result in a de facto ban on the popular herbicide.
"Atrazine is the most widely used herbicide in conservation tillage systems. Without atrazine, farmers would have to use higher quantities of other herbicides that are less effective while increasing tillage and threatening soil health and nutrients," said Zimmerman, who farms corn, soybeans, and wheat in Rosendale, Wisconsin.
Conservation tillage is a farming method that leaves stubble and residue from the previous year's crop on the field, to cover the soil's surface. Conservation tillage farming practices offer many environmental benefits, including protecting the soil from water and wind erosion, conserving moisture, reducing runoff, and improving wildlife habitat - all while reducing the amount of labor, fuel, and machinery used on a farm.
"This all impacts the bottom line" (of a farming operation), Zimmerman told lawmakers. Studies suggest that losing atrazine could cost corn farmers up to $59 per acre - or up to $2.5 billion to the corn industry.
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