Is Glyphosate Safe?

Joe from Michigan asks,



Hi Bill, In the past I've been unwilling to use chemicals for killing weeds. In your opinion is glyphosate safe? Alternative? Thanks Joe




Bill responds,


Topic: Is Glyphosate Safe?:

Is Glyphosate Safe?

I have read a number of reports on whether glyphosate is safe and it seems to depend on who is writing the report. My gut tells me it is not good for people and should be handled carefully, but I am most worried direct spraying it onto something the deer will be eating in very very near future – like glyphosate tolerant beans, for example.

Joe,

I really don’t know for sure. I keep using it sparingly, and I think it is OK when trying to wipe out a spot when you want to plant a new plot. Just use the recommended safety methods.

However, where it makes me nervous is when it is sprayed on RoundUp Ready (glyphosate tolerant) crops that you know the deer will be eating the next day. Think about it; you spray glyphosate on your soybeans and the next day (or that evening) the deer are out there eating it. Surely, that can’t be good for them and then you shoot and eat that deer in the fall.   Again, I am not sure on that part at all.  I am not aware of anyone that has done the research to predict how the chemical affects the deer and how the chemical then gets transferred to us.

I would search for an alternative. I started planting StarLink beans and even some dicamba beans, but I am not sure they are any better from the chemical pass-through point of view.  Ideally, you would not have to spray the beans at all once they start growing, but that would require some kind of intense and focused pre-emergent herbicide or farming method that I am not aware of.

Maybe beans aren’t the best choice for that reason, although I do like them from a management point of view in some cases – especially when opening new ground and when rotating with corn or sorghum.  Good luck. (12/20/21)

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Comment (1)

  1. Joe Blanchard

    Thanks Bill!

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