Deadline for Atrazine Comments Has Arrived - Producers Encouraged To Let Their Voice Be Heard

Sep 29, 2016

The National Corn Grower Association is asking farmers to express their support for the herbicide atrazine at www.ncga.com/atz before the Oct. 5, 2016 deadline.

"Atrazine is a safe and effective crop management tool, and EPA should base their decisions on sound science," said National Corn Growers Production and Stewardship Action Team Chairman Brent Hostetler, a farmer from Plain City, Ohio. "That's why I'm urging farmers to contact the EPA and make their voices heard."

Farming without atrazine could cost farmers up to $59 per acre, according to a 2012 analysis by the University of Chicago. That could mean the difference between corn farmers making a profit or loss on their crop. Atrazine, a key ingredient in nearly 100 herbicide mixes farmers use, is one of the best tools on the market today for combatting resistant weeds that waste water and nutrients.

As part of the draft ecological risk assessment, EPA recommends reducing the aquatic life level of concern (LOC) from 10 parts per billion (ppb) on a 60-day average, to 3.4 ppb. Scientific evidence points to a safe aquatic life LOC at 25 ppb or greater. If this recommendation holds, it would result in a de facto ban on atrazine.

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Video: How Can We Grow More Food With Less Impact?

For over two decades, Dr. Mitloehner has been at the forefront of research on how animal agriculture affects our air and our climate. With deep expertise in emissions and volatile organic compounds, his work initially focused on air quality in regions like California’s Central Valley—home to both the nation’s richest agricultural output and some of its poorest air quality.

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Dr. Frank Mitloehner, Professor and Air Quality Specialist with the CLEAR Center sits down with Associate Director for Communications at the CLEAR Center, Joe Proudman.