the war on
ATRAZINE
By Patrick Wade Policy Analyst , TGSA
On October 5 , the Environmental Protection Agency concluded the public comment collection for its draft ecological risk assessment regarding the registration review of the popular herbicide Atrazine . Every 15 years , the EPA is required to conduct these registration reviews of each registered pesticide in the United States . The review process is ostensibly designed to refine the scientific foundation that informs the product ’ s acceptable toxicity standard , known as its Level of Concern . This particular risk assessment , however , ignored five decades of Atrazine ’ s proven safety and entered the realm of speculative models that projected Levels of Concern unmoored from empirical data . As a result , the toxicity risks it posed would preclude Atrazine ’ s application on 90 percent of existing sorghum acres nationwide .
In response to the assessment ’ s inaccuracies , Texas Grain Sorghum Association partnered with National Sorghum Producers on a campaign to help producers from across the state tell the EPA how important Atrazine is to their operations . Although the public comment period has now closed , TGSA wanted to take this opportunity to remind the readers of the Connection how critical the fight is to keep Atrazine on the farms .
• Atrazine is uniquely effective on sorghum . It is one of only a handful of products that is effective when applied pre-emergence and post-emergence . Unlike other alternatives , applying Atrazine post-emergence will not hemorrhage any yield . It is commonly used in tank mixes as a result of this effectiveness , as well .
• Atrazine is one of the most economically efficient products on the market . It only costs between $ 3.75 and $ 7.50 per acre , with a typical use rate of 1lb to 2lbs per acre . On top of that , a single application of Atrazine is often sufficient for season long broadleaf weed control . Its alternatives for pre-emergence treatment can cost as much as $ 22 per acre and often require multiple applications .
TGSA remains confident that the EPA will rectify the mistakes made in its risk assessment and return with an evaluation that better understands Atrazine ’ s importance to sorghum production . In the meantime , if any readers wish to know more about the regulatory issues facing agriculture ’ s crop protection tools , feel free to reach out to TGSA or NSP .
Atrazine is the most widely used herbicide on sorghum in the United States — nearly two-thirds of sorghum acres nationwide apply it to combat broadleaf weeds . It has achieved this level of popularity amongst sorghum producers for two primary reasons :
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