5-23-25–The Make America Healthy Again Commission report, released Thursday, questioned the safety of key herbicides Kansas farmers use. The mention of glyphosate and atrazine was tempered with language warning that “precipitous changes in agricultural practices could have an adverse impact on American agriculture and the domestic and global food supply.” The Kansas Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and the National Corn Growers Association have been working proactively to help the MAHA Commission and the Administration understand how corn farmers are working to grow the safest, healthiest and most abundant crops in the world.

“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,” KCGA CEO Josh Roe said. “Our association and its leaders have worked on these issues for years, and continue to actively represent Kansas corn growers help regulators understand how crop protection tools are safely used in our fields and to ensure regulatory decisions are based on credible scientific evidence.”

KCGA and NCGA are providing a steady drumbeat of information and outreach to decision-makers and the public to increase the understanding of modern sustainable farming practices and the use of crop protection tools. The associations’ proactive efforts have had a positive impact on the Administration’s view of agriculture, but more work needs to be done.

KCGA is a founder and continues to lead the Triazine Network, a national agriculture coalition that has advocated for growers for over 30 years on the regulation of atrazine and other triazine herbicides. Former KCGA CEO Greg Krissek is co-chair of the Network, and KCGA also manages communications for the group. KCGA board member Brent Rogers, Hoxie, provided testimony before an EPA Scientific Advisory Panel last August, which led to the removal of several low-quality studies from consideration, which helped EPA arrive at a more reasonable level of concern for atrazine. Every KCGA board member submitted detailed comments to EPA’s most recent atrazine comment period in March.

KCGA board members Tanner McNinch, Ness City and Brett Grauerholz, Republic serve on the National Corn Growers Association’s Production and Sustainability Action Team. This team’s mission is to protect and expand voluntary access to sustainable production practices and technologies for U.S. corn farmers. Grauerholz also serves on EPA’s Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee, advising EPA on mitigation practices to prevent runoff, while being economically viable to crop producers. Grauerholz, McNinch and Roe have met with high-level staff at EPA to help them understand the in-field and application best management practices farmers use to minimize pesticide runoff.

KCGA works closely with Kansas Senator Roger Marshall, who leads the MAHA Caucus in the Senate. He said in an AgriPulse interview that his position gives him an opportunity to educate MAHA leaders about agriculture.

“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. 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, Marshall said.”

In a statement in response to the MAHA Commission Report, NCGA made the following statement:

“The Make America Healthy Again Report is filled with fear-based rather than science-based information about pesticides. We are deeply troubled that claims of this magnitude are being made without any scientific basis or regard for a long history of EPA expert evaluations of these products.

“Decades of extensive research and testing show that pesticides, including atrazine and glyphosate, can be applied safely for their intended uses. If the administration’s goal is to bring more efficiency to government, then why is the secretary of Health and Human Services duplicating efforts by raising questions about pesticides that have been answered repeatedly through research and reviews by federal regulatory bodies?

“We call on the administration to respect the existing body of science on pesticides and, moving forward, to include America’s farmers in discussion as this process evolves.”

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