Many no-tillers have been wondering when the refuge requirement for Bt corn hybrids might be reduced. With a reduced refuge, they’ve been calculating how much corn yields could be raised across their operations.

Several recent developments in the pesticide area represent disturbing examples of how the environmentalists pay little attention to scientific facts. As a result, several pesticides and genetically modified organism (GMO) corn hybrids are under increased fire from lawyers and governmental agencies that could impact no-tillers.

In late October, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a favorable re-registration for atrazine, which paves the way for its continued use by no-tillers. “This decision confirms what extensive scientific studies have shown — that atrazine meets the most stringent regulatory safety standards,’ says Mike Mack, president of Syngenta Crop Protection, an atrazine producer.

Two recently released research studies reinforce the existing body of scientific evidence that 2,4-D does not present a cancer risk to farmers and pesticide applicators.

While Hypoxia has been a serious issue for a half dozen years in the Gulf Of Mexico, pollution and sediment left nearly half of the Chesapeake Bay so depleted of oxygen this summer that it couldn’t sustain aquatic life.

Since herbicide-tolerant transgenic cotton varieties became widely available in 1997, the no-till cotton acreage has nearly doubled in the United States. A recent survey by the National Cotton Council indicates that no-till made up 29 percent of total cotton acres while reduced tillage made up 30 percent of all cotton acres in 2002.

Many growers looking for a new way to provide both burndown and season-long weed control will soon have a new tool available in their herbicide arsenal. That’s because a compound named Expert from Syngenta Crop Protection was recently approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use in corn and grain sorghum.

Monsanto has received full U.S. regulatory clearance for the first biotech corn designed to control corn rootworm. The company announced in late February that both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cleared YieldGard Rootworm for use in corn hybrids for resistance to this insect. Licensing the technology to other seed companies means a number of corn hybrids containing this technology will be available for no-tilling this spring.

While it hasn’t yet generated much business, an unexpected source of funds for purchasing no-till drills and planters is available from the federal government. The only drawback is that these 0-percent interest loans, that can be at least partially paid back with U.S. Department of Agriculture cost-share dollars, must be obtained by a public or quasi-public agency rather than directly by farmers.