Takeaways
- Glyphosate is a crucial crop protection tool for growers.
- Domestic production of the chemical is very limited, which could be a threat
- The executive order under the War Powers Act allows the USDA secretary to take action to boost supply domestically
While many advocates believe glyphosate’s days should be numbered, that doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon.
In case you missed it, President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order mobilizing the Defense Production Act to, “protect domestic production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides.”
Trump said P and glyphosate are inputs essential to military readiness and America’s “agricultural strength.” The administration asserts that any interruption of supply of either element, “could leave our defense industrial base and food supply vulnerable to hostile foreign actors.”
The order notes that with only one domestic producer of elemental P and glyphosate-based herbicides, and U.S. needs exceeding output, “the threat of reduced or ceased production gravely endangers national security and defense, which includes food-supply security.”
The administration says it still supports research and investment into next-generation crop protection technologies, “but ensuring a stable supply of existing critical inputs remains essential to safeguarding food security and national defense.”
This news probably isn’t going to thrill the Make America Healthy Again movement. But its founder, DHHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., told CNBC in a statement he was supportive or the order because it prioritized the country on “defense readiness and our food supply.”
This statement is pretty extraordinary coming from Kennedy, who is the leader and public face of the MAHA movement. Just this week, Bayer proposed a national settlement for Roundup lawsuits worth $7.25 billion, which must still be approved by a judge.
Other farmer groups will likely be thrilled, as glyphosate is widely used by production agriculture to control weeds. It played a big part in the growth of reduced tillage and no-till systems in the U.S.
A sudden loss of glyphosate products to farmers would, no doubt, cause major problems for farmers just coming into the growing season. And farmers cannot afford to hoist any more problems on their shoulders right now.
