Little More than a Week Left for Growers to Help Ensure Continued Use of Glyphosate

Farmers have until Sept. 3 to tell EPA how valuable a tool glyphosate is for managing weed growth, improving farm productivity and adopting conservation-based practices. USDA data indicates that in 2019, 95% of cotton acres, 94% of soybean acres and 89% of corn acres planted in the U.S. were herbicide-tolerant crops.

“The loss of glyphosate would present a significant challenge to farmers of these crops by reducing crop quality and reducing farm productivity and profitability. In addition, making glyphosate unavailable would unquestionably compromise the rapid growth of conservation-based no-till soil practices,” the American Farm Bureau Federation said in comments to EPA as the agency makes its final registration decisions for glyphosate.

Federal law requires EPA to continuously review existing pesticides, so the agency’s glyphosate review, which determined it is a beneficial tool for farmers, is standard procedure.