Oct. 26: With a Science Advisory Panel of the Environmental Protection Agency meeting in a little over a week to begin a year-long reevaluation of the risk of atrazine, the National Corn Growers Association has requested a 30-day extension on the comment period and a postponement of the November 3 meeting until after the comment period closes.

“The fall represents a very busy time for our growers with harvest, and we want to make sure they have ample time to submit comments on the importance of atrazine in their farming practices,” NCGA President Darrin Ihnen said. “We want to make sure we remind the EPA that after 50 years of use, atrazine is one of the most studied herbicides available on the market and existing data from the EPA and World Health Organization shows that atrazine can and has been used safely.”

Originally, the EPA only allowed 15 days for organizations to provide written comments regarding the EPA’s reconsideration of the use of atrazine before launching its year-long review by the Science Advisory Panel. Along with NCGA, Farm Bureau, CropLife America and Syngenta have also sent in similar requests for an extension.