Today I was talking with Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council Research Director David Kee about all the uncertainty Minnesota soybean farmers are facing for next season. I mentioned the high price of Round-Up or glyphosate and that it may not be available at all due to supply chain and manufacturing issues overseas. David said that may not make any difference because there is a chance the Environmental Protection Agency may take it off the market! I was shocked!

I had not heard that that glyphosate may be taken off the market. I did know that every so many years the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by law must review the label and renew the herbicide license. Also going through the re-registration process at this time is atrazine. When the EPA finalized the biological evaluation on atrazine and glyphosate it said these herbicides "are likely to adversely affect" some species that are listed on the Endangered Species Act."

Which ones and where are the endangered species located? The EPA did not specify which one of the almost 1700 on the list or where the 800 habitats were located. The EPA will send their report over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service and they will release their own findings. I have a pretty good idea what their findings will be but hopefully I will be wrong!

If they decide atrazine and glyphosate put endangered species or habitats in "jeopardy" then the EPA will put additional restrictions on the Federal label, or it could be taken off the market. However, "not all species or habitats identified in the evaluation as at risk from these glyphosate, atrazine or simazine will necessarily require major changes to the registration of these chemicals, the EPA noted." So, maybe there will not be major changes to the labels or not be taken off the market?

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