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Public comment on atrazine closes Friday
Many ag groups are urging their members to submit public comments on the EPA’s draft evaluation for the potential effects of atrazine on threatened or endangered species which closes Friday.
Michigan Corn Growers Association executive director Jim Zook tells Brownfield EPA’s modeling for atrazine uses the maximum use rate for the product and is not reflective of real-world application.
“The loss of this would be an economic devastation to many of our corn growers, not only in this state but also nationwide,” he says.
He says atrazine has been available for nearly 60 years as a low-cost weed control and EPA’s ecological risk assessment uses outdated science in its reregistration process.
“Common sense would tell you that if the use of this product was going to be detrimental, those species would no longer exist,” he says.
Michigan Farm Bureau is also calling on it’s members to submit comments saying atrazine is an important crop protection tool for weed mitigation in conservation tillage and no-till practices. National Legislative Counsel John Kran says they want the EPA to make transparent determinations based on the best science and the current methodology could jeopardize the future availability of the herbicide.
