Banning atrazine may cause huge economic loss

Banning atrazine herbicide would have a huge economic impact ranging from lost farm income to higher farm sector unemployment. University of Chicago economist Don Coursey has studied what atrazine’s loss would mean to the corn economy.

"The affect upon the corn economy would be just phenomenal,” said Coursey.

Banning atrazine would cost between 21,000 and 48,000 jobs from the corn segment of the farm economy, Coursey said during an interview with Brownfield.

"The unemployment rate, which is about 11 percent in agriculture generally right now, would go up to about 13.6,” said Coursey. “So, 11 percent unemployment – ban atrazine – move it to 13.6 unemployment. That’s a big move. That’s a lot.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency re-registered atrazine in 2006 based on nearly 6,000 studies. The agency began another review of atrazine in late 2009 citing a media report and claims by a longtime anti-atrazine group.

A ban of atrazine would cost corn growers money, said Coursey. He estimates atrazine’s corn production value ranges from $26 an acre to $58 an acre.

"The total loss to corn farmers from a national ban on atrazine would be between $2.3 billion and $5 billion per year,” said Coursey.

Corn growers would also miss what Missouri Corn CEO Gary Marshall says is an effective compound used on a lot of acres.

"Atrazine is used [on] probably in excess of 80 percent of the acres that we sow here in Missouri into corn and grain sorghum and nationwide I think it’s used [on] somewhere around 60 percent of all the acres,” said Marshall, who is also on the Triazine Network Steering Committee, which works toward maintaining atrazine’s registration.

"It’s not necessarily a standalone product,” said Marshall, “small amounts used with other products make those other products work just a little bit better.”

Atrazine has been a mainstay of corn, sorghum and sugar cane production for 50 years. It’s the second most-used herbicide in the U.S.