By Krista Swanson, Economist, National Corn Growers Association
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| Krista Swanson |
In response to the recent release of the Making America Healthy Again report, which raised unfounded questions about the safety of pesticides, the National Corn Growers Association has released a report that speaks to the economic impact of widely used technologies, like atrazine and glyphosate.
“U.S. farmers consistently raise abundant crops that provide consumers reliable, low-cost access to food,” said NCGA Chief Economist and Illinois farmer, Krista Swanson, who authored the report. “One of the central tenets to producing crops is the control of pests that, when left unchecked, can reduce corn yields by up to 70%. Pesticides are one tool that farmers use to control pests, the safety and efficacy of which have been repeatedly tested and documented for decades.”
Farmers would face at least a 60% increase in cost if they were to switch from glyphosate and atrazine to alternative herbicides, according to the report. Similarly, a recent North Carolina State Extension analysis looking at the potential short-term economic impact of losing glyphosate in North Carolina estimated a 73% increase in costs for corn.
Farmers have said without pesticides, they have limited options for addressing weed and pesticide control. That assertion was echoed by the NCGA report.
“Without access to effective and affordable herbicides, farmers could turn to other options to control weeds, though all present difficult trade-offs,” the report notes. “Given current labor wage rates and challenges in finding farm labor, manual control is likely too costly and inaccessible to be realistic on most corn acres.”
Many experts have said growers could increasingly turn to tillage as an alternative, but such a move would lead to greater soil erosion and compaction, contrary to sustainable farm practices favoring less tillage. And, according to the NCGA report, it could take up to three or four tillage passes per acre to effectively control weeds, costing about $15 to $30 per acre, per pass, and requiring increased use of fuel.
A 2023 study by the Directions Group, shows glyphosate has enabled conservation practices that result in a slew of environmental gains, including: 22% reduction in sediment loss, 19% reduction in water use for irrigation, 16% reduction in soil erosion from wind, 13% reduction in soil erosion from water, 1.2 million tons fewer carbon emissions from farm machinery, and 32.5 million additional tons of carbon equivalents captured by farmland soil.
NCGA and other ag groups have emphasized in recent weeks that glyphosate and atrazine are time-tested products that have been in use for more than half a century.
Glyphosate has been registered as a pesticide in the United States since 1974 and atrazine has been registered as a pesticide since 1958. Since then, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as other regulatory agencies around the world, has reviewed and reassessed each product’s safety and use multiple times.
The report ends with a warning that removing these technologies could be disruptive.
“Without continued access to pesticides that protect against devastating pests, U.S. farms and ranches would quickly become economically unsustainable, jeopardizing U.S. farmers’ ability to provide affordable food and other agricultural products to consumers,” the report said. “Preserving access to these technologies and encouraging further advancement is essential to maintaining both a robust, quality supply of goods for U.S. consumers and competitiveness for U.S. agriculture globally.”
