By Jamie Martin
The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission’s newly released report has raised concerns among Kansas farmers by questioning the safety of widely used herbicides like glyphosate and atrazine.
However, the report also acknowledged that “precipitous changes in agricultural practices could have an adverse impact on American agriculture and the domestic and global food supply.”
In response, the Kansas Corn Growers Association (KCGA) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) emphasized their ongoing efforts to educate policymakers about modern farming practices.
“We expected the MAHA report to attack pesticides, particularly glyphosate and atrazine. Leaders of the MAHA movement continue to make unsubstantiated health claims against the herbicides which aren’t based on sound scientific evidence. Some of those unfounded opinions are in this report,” said KCGA CEO Josh Roe.
KCGA and NCGA have remained active in promoting science-based regulations and helping the public and government officials better understand how crop protection products are used safely and effectively. Their outreach aims to ensure decisions affecting agriculture are grounded in credible science.
KCGA also plays a leadership role in the Triazine Network, a coalition focused on advocating for responsible regulation of atrazine and similar herbicides.
KCGA board member Brent Rogers testified before an EPA Scientific Advisory Panel last year, contributing to the removal of unreliable studies that influenced a more balanced EPA review.
Every KCGA board member submitted comments during the agency’s latest atrazine review period in March.
Two KCGA board members, Tanner McNinch and Brett Grauerholz, serve on NCGA’s Production and Sustainability Action Team, which promotes voluntary sustainable farming practices.
Grauerholz also advises the EPA through its Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee and works with agency officials on runoff prevention strategies that maintain farm profitability.
“The great news is that I can push back. So many of the things they talk about, they don’t realize agriculture is doing, that we’re growing so much more with less because of precision agriculture," said Senator Roger Marshall, who leads the MAHA Caucus in the Senate.
"They have no idea what we’re doing when it comes to using less pesticides. . .. They’re acting like all of this is new, but these are things that we grew up doing. Kansas farmers and ranchers have been doing them for decades."
Photo Credit: gettyimages-alexeyrumyantsev
Categories: National