New Research Indicates Herbicide Encourages Conservation Tillage, No-Till Farming

A new study from the University of Wisconsin—Madison (UW-M) found that the herbicide atrazine, known for controlling weeds, is also useful in conservation. UW-M economist Paul D. Mitchell, says atrazine helps farmers reduce aggregate soil erosion by up to 85 million tons per year, or enough to fill more than 3 million dump trucks. Mitchell will present the findings of his paper, “Estimating soil erosion and fuel use changes and their monetary values with AGSIM: A case study for triazine herbicides,” at the Wisconsin Crop Management Conference in Madison, Wis., on Jan. 10.

The study also found, among other key findings, that:

• Atrazine and its sister triazine herbicides, simazine and propazine, save up to $350 million in soil erosion costs per year;
• By encouraging conservation tillage and no-till farming, atrazine and the other triazines reduce soil erosion, decrease fuel use and improve water quality; and
• Increased farmer adoption of conservation tillage and related practices led to a 43% decrease in soil erosion from U.S. farmland in the past three decades.

“We are just beginning to understand the full environmental economic impact atrazine has on the agriculture industry and global food markets in this new agricultural economy,” said Mitchell. “Atrazine effectively controls weeds and significantly increases corn, sorghum and sugar cane yields. But it also supports conservation tillage and no-till farming, which are critical to protecting the environment and providing food and clean water to our world's population.”

Syngenta, the principal registrant for atrazine, provided resources and support for Mitchell's research.

Source: PR Newswire