The EPA has started the process that may lead to the banning of atrazine. Should that happen, it will be a lot harder and more expensive to raise corn and soybeans. Atrazine is currently used on about 80% of the corn in Indiana. According to Bill Johnson, weed specialist with Purdue, “Atrazine is easily the most effective broad spectrum herbicide we use that gives us control of grass and broadleaf weeds.”

 

Decades of research have shown atrazine is safe; and, as recently as 4 years ago, the EPA did not show atrazine as a threat to the environment. Yet now their most recent assessment says the technology is a danger to man and animals.  Johnson says, if farmers are prevented from using atrazine, the alternative may have more adverse environmental impacts, “The banning of atrazine will not result in the reduction of herbicide use. We will be using a higher level of chemicals in our corn production system.” Some of these have the potential to have an even greater impact on the environment than atrazine.

 

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