Federal regulation of the broadleaf herbicide atrazine and safety compliance requirements for retailers of anhydrous fertilizer were among the topics discussed Aug. 17 at a Senate oversight hearing held by Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Joni Ernst of Iowa.

 

Jim Zimmerman, a board member of the National Corn Growers Association who farms near Rosendale, Wis., testified the EPA’s call for a reduction in the allowable environmental concentration of atrazine in its standard 15-year reevaluation of the herbicide would be “practically unachievable” and would represent a “de-facto ban” on the use of atrazine.

 

“One of the most important tools I use on my farm is the herbicide atrazine — and I am far from alone in this regard,” Zimmerman said. “Atrazine is one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States — used on well over half of corn and sorghum acres and on as much as 90 percent of sugarcane acres.”

 

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