New Survey Shows Farmers Would Feel Impact if MAHA Commission Targets Pesticides
August 1, 2025
In a new survey, American corn growers say they would face higher costs and reductions in crop yields if they were to lose access to key herbicides like atrazine and glyphosate. The survey comes after the Make America Healthy Again Commission released its preliminary report questioning the safety of the two herbicides.
The survey findings reveal high stakes for the MAHA Commission’s next report, a set of policy recommendations expected to be released in August, which could impact a key constituency in President Trump’s base. The crop protection tools in question have been thoroughly tested by the Environmental Protection Agency and other regulatory bodies and shown to be safe for their intended uses.
“These results are in line with what I am hearing in conversations among farmers,” said Illinois farmer and National Corn Growers Association President Kenneth Hartman Jr. “We are concerned that claims about herbicides in the pending MAHA recommendations could remove access to the tools we need to safely and sustainably produce a crop.”
Hartman added that growers hope the president will intervene and ensure that the MAHA Commission follows the science and defers to the EPA on matters related to pesticide policy and regulation.
The survey, which was sponsored by NCGA, included responses from more than 1,000 farmers and was conducted between June 17 and July 2, following the release of MAHA’s initial assessment, which mentioned glyphosate and atrazine.
Respondents indicated overwhelmingly – 85% – that weeds are the top pest plaguing their crops and that atrazine and glyphosate were their top two herbicides of choice.
The MAHA Commission, a priority of Health and Human Service Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was formed in February through a presidential executive order. The commission released its initial assessment in May. That assessment was challenged by corn grower leaders for questioning decades of science proving glyphosate and atrazine to be safe and effective.
NCGA has spent months sounding the alarms about the MAHA Commission’s focus on herbicides. The group has said that if the pesticides in the initial assessment were to disappear completely, crop yields could decrease by more than 70% due to pests, weeds and disease.
Herbicides and pesticides, including glyphosate and atrazine have been tested extensively. Before these products are approved for use, companies must submit dozens, if not hundreds, of test results for EPA review and consideration, including tests examining potential effects on child development, dietary exposure, and long-term toxicity. The EPA’s reviews, required by law, are repeated at least every 15 years, or sooner if new data becomes available.
“Given that the EPA’s robust regulatory process has found these products to be safe when used according to label directions, there is no reason to suggest that they are harmful,” Hartman noted. “Doing so will come at a great cost to farmers and rural America.”
Source: NCGA
