What Farmers Say About Atrazine’s Benefits

AGsense_Atrazine_What-People-Say-About-Atrazine-Benefits

Grower's Thoughts

Environmental activists would like you to believe that farmers don’t need atrazine, so we might as well get rid of it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only is it important to our growers’ bottom lines, it is vital to the practices we use to protect the environment The NRDC says we can use another chemical, but ask NRDC what chemicals they do approve of.

- Ken McCauley | White Cloud, Kansas

I can’t no-till without atrazine. With no-till there is not near the runoff and without no-till I will have 50 or 60 bushel sorghum instead of the 100 to 120 bushels I have now.

- Greg Shelor | Minneola, Kansas

For me atrazine is an enhancer for weed control. Years ago, my dad used it as his sole product. Now we use much lower rates and have better weed control. As an enhancer, atrazine has allowed us to reduce the rates of other chemicals and has made them more effective.

- Ron Litterer | Greene, Iowa

There is no alternative to atrazine. Every time you till the soil, you lose an inch of moisture. Without atrazine, you’d have to till two or three times pre-plant plus cultivate a couple of times and that amounts to a loss of 5 inches of moisture.

- James Vorderstrasse | Hebron, Nebraska

I’m trying to remember if we have ever grown corn without atrazine. It’s been around such a long time. But does that mean we need to look at something else? I don’t think so

- Fred Yoder | Plain City, Ohio