Too much rain can devastate a crop. That was especially true when cultivators were the primary weed technology. It was a waiting game to get into the field …. In the race against time, the weeds got the upper hand – hence the old adage, “Dry years scare you; wet years kill you.”

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In a world without glyphosate, there’d be more weeds and reduced crop yields. But let’s also not overlook the indirect consequences – namely, more soil erosion and carbon emissions.

[USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Services] has published two project surveys: 2003-06 (CEAPI) and 2010-14 (CEAPII). Between those two periods, the agency reported, “More efficient conservation tillage systems, particularly no-till, became the dominant form of tillage, reducing erosion and fuel use.” And as part of those practices, “Average annual fuel use dropped by 110 million gallons of diesel fuel equivalents, avoiding associated greenhouse gas emissions of nearly 1.2 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents.”

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It got me thinking about glyphosate in a new and different way. Meanwhile, the topic is front and center lately, stemming from the Make America Healthy Again Commission’s report.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here