Victorian crop growers say farming without glyphosate would be a completely different ball game, amid concerns the herbicide could be taken off shelves.
It comes after a former gardener, who said he got terminal cancer from Roundup, a widely-used weed killer made by Monsanto, was awarded $US289 million ($A395 million) in a landmark court case in the United States.
And now a Brazilian federal judge has banned the use of any crop protection product containing glyphosate until there are further toxicology tests conducted.
When Sea Lake cropper Nic Harrison heard the news from overseas, he immediately thought about going into town to stock up on Roundup, a product that has been used on his family’s farm for decades.
“I would use Roundup more than the average farmer because of my chemical fallow, there are paddocks I’m not using each year and have to keep them sprayed,” Mr Harrison said.
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He estimated profits would halve, if not reduce by 75 per cent, if a ban was imposed.
“If you couldn’t control your summer weeds, you wouldn’t be able to get a crop on at all,” he said.
“You could say without Roundup, we could hardly farm.”
Berriwillock crop grower, John Watson, said if glyphosate products were taken off farmers, the cost of growing crops would make the job far less profitable.
“Without it, the cost of farming grain and feed would escalate quite a lot, and being on the bottom of the supply chain, we don’t often get recompense for our extra inputs,” Mr Watson said.
Mr Watson has used Roundup since the mid ‘80s, and said the herbicide was a very good tool.
“It’s all about perception, it’s far from being a bad chemical in terms of the spectrum of chemicals we use,” he said.
Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) chief executive, Chris Sounness, said glyphosate had provided many financial and environmental benefits to farmers.
“Glyphosate has been a key driver in allowing farmers to adopt farming practices which have a really positive environmental impact,” Mr Sounness said.
“It has been a foundation product in the ability for farmers to move to a no-till system, which has had huge benefits across the entire agricultural landscape.”
He said he hoped any decision made surrounding the future of the herbicide was evidence-based.
He said Victorian farmers were aware of the safety requirements of using products that contain glyphosate.
“On all Australian agricultural chemicals that are registered, there is advice on how they’re handled, and I think farmers take that very seriously and do that very well,” he said.
Mr Harrison said he had tried to limit exposure to glyphosate on his farm as much as possible.
“It’s designed to kill weeds, so I can’t imagine it would be good for you either,” he said.
“The most exposure happens when filling up the sprayer, so I use enviro drum couplings so I’m not actually handling the raw sprays.”
He said he wears a respirator, overalls and gumboots when filling up too, and is conscious of wind direction when spraying.
“When you’re spraying, most people have a sealed cabin, you spray so you’re not turning into the mist but into the wind,” he said.
“Most tractors and sprayers also have a carbon filter which filters out any chemicals before the air comes in.”
Mr Watson said his safety procedures on-farm were common sense.
“We use gloves and wash everything, but not where the wind is,” he said.
“It’s just good management practice.”
He said with pressure coming on, farmers can’t be seen to be misusing the product.
“If you lose your market, you’ve got to find another,” he said.
VFF approach
Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) grains president Ross Johns said Australia has a very rigorous process in terms of accreditation of chemicals like glyphosate, which is scientifically backed up.
Mr Johns said he supported the use of science-based approval and would be disappointed if a ban were put in place based on emotion and not facts.
This accreditation is granted by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), who in a statement said glyphosate was registered for use in Australia, so APVMA-approved products containing glyphosate can continue to be used safely according to label directions.
APVMA said it reminds all users of the importance of following label instructions, which include relevant poisons scheduling, first aid, and safety directions detailing personal protective equipment when using products containing glyphosate.
Mr Johns said glyphosate was widely-used and important for crop production.