Farm groups fighting EPA on atrazine

The reduced allowable levels would “effectively ban the use of atrazine in nearly 100 herbicide mixes,” the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association said Monday.

Some of Wisconsin’s largest farm groups are worried that federal regulators will increase restrictions on atrazine, a weed killer sprayed on corn fields and other crops.

This summer, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a draft ecological risk assessment of atrazine and recommended reducing the allowable levels.

Farm groups, including the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association, the Cooperative Network, Wisconsin Pork Association, Midwest Food Processors, the Dairy Business Association, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation and the Wisconsin Soybean Association, have asked farmers to contact the EPA and urge the agency to reconsider its position...The public has until Oct. 4 to comment on the EPA’s proposed atrazine risk assessment....

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Ken Notes: Again, why don`t we sit down with farmers and negotiate trade offs for the good of the environment. We need river, creek, lake, and wetland setbacks and runoff management programs to reduce phosphorus and other thing that do real harm. We don`t work together to fix things -- we regulate things that have no real impact. Also can we get the UW`s and other think tanks to offer real solutions...