ICGA SUBMITS COMMENTS TO PRESERVE YOUR RIGHT TO USE PARAQUAT

Lindsay Mitchell

Dec 16, 2019  |  Today's News |  ICGA |  Legislation & Regulation

The Illinois Corn Growers Association submitted comments today in support of the reregistration of Paraquat, a widely used herbicide in the U.S.  The current comment period is the product of an extensive evaluation of available data on the health and environmental impacts associated with the pesticide and is a step in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) registration review process.

 

 

In the comments, ICGA advocated for Illinois farmers' need to have every available tool at their disposal to manage weed pressures on their farm.  ICGA also noted that as farmers improve conservation practices by planting cover crops or utilizing minimum tillage options, the availability of herbicides like Paraquat makes further conservation gains possible.

 

"The Illinois Corn Growers Association is very interested in improving conservation practices on Illinois farms.  Paraquat is an important tool to help us help farmers employ at least one new conservation practice on every acre in Illinois, which is our goal.  Many farmers choose to plant cover crops as the additional conservation practice on their family farms and Paraquat is the herbicide used to control cover crops in certain cropping systems.  Without it, farmers likely wouldn’t choose to plant cover crops on their acres, impacting erosion, nutrient loss, and soil health," President William Leigh said in ICGA's comments.

 

Participating in the regulatory system on behalf of Illinois farmers is an important way ICGA serves its members.  Take a look at all the comments we have submitted on public rulemaking and registration processes during 2019 here.