Growers and agribusinesses in Michigan were surprised and pleased to hear the EPA will take the next step in the process to re-register the Atrazine herbicide under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
Jim Byrum, president of the Michigan Agribusiness Association, says there is a need to reintroduce Atrazine.
“A lot of people are surprised it may have come our of this EPA, but if one looks at the pesticide world, there’s big changes and there’s big changes coming,” he said.
There’s a lot of reason for those changes because of weed resistance—some of it started three to four years ago.
“It’s ironic that an awful lot of folks in our realm are recommending chemistry that was invented 40 to 50 years ago and we’re missing new molecules and we’re not seeing a lot of that new technology we saw during the 70s and 80s,” said Byrum. “It’s a bit of a challenge trying to figure out where producers are going to go for weed control and weed control strategies.”
Atrazine is a widely used herbicide that controls a variety of grasses and broadleaf weeds. It is well-known and trusted by growers as one of the most effective herbicides. A review from the Endangered Species Committee is the next step in the registration review process required under the FIFRA.
