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Minnesota Corn speaks up about proposed atrazine rule

Commodity groups continue to express concern about a proposed rule that would limit the use of a commonly used herbicide.

Minnesota Corn Growers Association executive director Adam Birr says EPA is looking to introduce a concentration of concern for atrazine at 3.4 ppb (parts per billion) despite three previous scientific advisory panels landing on 15 ppb.

“So we have concerns about how they arrived at this number because it just doesn’t feel like there was a lot of scientific process that went into this. And frankly, it’s an unworkable number.”

Speaking to Brownfield during Minnesota Farmfest earlier this month, he says the proposal seems counterintuitive to what EPA is trying to accomplish.

“You’re going to take away a tool that’s pretty instrumental for us to do some of these other practices like cover crops and no-till (and) strip-till. It’s not even possible if we lose something like atrazine.”

The public comment period for the proposed rule ends September 6th.