12-27-2002
Balance Pro Herbicide Will Not be Sold In Wisconsin in 2003
Contact: Jane Larson
608-224-5005
MADISON--The need to protect Wisconsin's water resources led the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to require special restrictions and conditions if a new corn herbicide was to be used in Wisconsin. Because of the added environmental requirements, Bayer CropScience, the manufacturer of Balance Pro herbicide, has decided not to distribute the product in Wisconsin in 2003.
In 1999, the state agriculture department first made the decision that pesticides containing the active ingredient isoxaflutole (eye-SOX-a-flew-tall) could not be used in Wisconsin. This decision was based on information from the federal Environmental Protection Agency that this compound, used to control weeds in corn, could contaminate surface water and groundwater, accumulate in the environment and potentially damage irrigated vegetable crops and other non-target plants.
"In early 2002, the department was again asked to allow the registration and sale of Balance Pro herbicide in Wisconsin. We assembled an advisory committee, prepared a draft environmental impact statement that assessed the risks and benefits of the product, and offered it for public comment," explained Jim Vanden Brook, water quality section chief.
"Our final decision was that Balance Pro could be used in Wisconsin but only with additional product restrictions," Vanden Brook said. "These restrictions were necessary to protect our resources in Wisconsin. We based our decision on comments from the advisory committee, other interested parties and the EPA."
The restrictions include:
- Prohibiting use in eight Wisconsin counties and the Lower Wisconsin River Valley, totaling about 1 million acres.
- Prohibiting use on other fields determined to be more susceptible to groundwater contamination due to soil characteristics and shallow depth to the groundwater.
- Prohibiting use in tile-drained fields, where studies indicate residues of the compound and its breakdown product are likely to move to the tile and subsequently enter surface water.
- Environmental monitoring of surface water and groundwater in areas where Balance Pro is applied.
Bayer CropScience stated in a letter to the department that the company had concerns about the additional restrictions and considered them unreasonable. Bayer declined the opportunity to register the product for use in Wisconsin. Balance Pro is currently available in 18 other states.
"The added requirements carried a cost for Bayer CropScience," Vanden Brook explained. "This would include one time installation costs for surface water monitoring stations and groundwater monitoring wells which we estimate at $100,000. In addition, there would be annual costs for sampling, laboratory analysis as well as payments to farmers for access to the monitoring wells." Vanden Brook added, "We recognized that Balance Pro would provide another weed control tool for corn growers, but the restrictions and conditions were needed to protect all of Wisconsin agriculture and our natural resources."
###
Return to Previous Page Back to Search Results
|
