glyphosate spraying

[Ironhead]

In the local provincial election this is becoming a "hot topic", again. To better understand the "pros and cons", what are other jurisdictions doing about spraying?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-b...rail-1.5710838

[john maddock]

In the local provincial election this is becoming a "hot topic", again. To better understand the "pros and cons", what are other jurisdictions doing about spraying?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-b...rail-1.5710838

A very good question, Ironhead, coz there are numerous shades of grey - and few people understand that. I sometimes wonder if there would be the same foment if big business i.e. Monsanto and now Bayer, were not involved.

To be objective:

1. The press often uses the terms "glyphosate" and Roundup interchangeably and incorrectly. Glyphosate ain't Roundup, and vice versa. I've never heard of anyone questioning the safety of the additives which make Roundup. As a manufacturer of weed wipers, I and my fellow designer have been diligent in trying to discover what the additives are, and we've failed completely.

2. Without Roundup (or an equivalent) no-till and min-till practitioners will have a very hard time. At the risk of a very bad pun, "choose ya poisin!"

3. AFAIK, the only herbicide approved for use in wipers in jurisdictions which regulate herbicides, is Roundup or its equivalents. If spraying Roundup is banned, I doubt that there will be special dispensation for its use in wipers, and thus a powerful tool which enables weeds to be selectively attacked will be lost. I was told many years ago that Sweden had banned wipers coz a particular NZ manufacturer had sold a significant number of their wipers there - and they had dripped (a design feature) and caused such pollution that wiping was banned.

BTW, we were able to enter the UK European market coz (used correctly), our machines do not drip.

In Aus., there are rumblings of banning, but no imminent action as far as I am aware.

JV