@ i ‘Q d 4 j = 4 Our Heconomy Government Regulation Change Could Save Many Jobs (NAPSA)—The U.S. corn econ- Dr. Coursey’s research finds that losing atrazine could cost omy is less likely to be rocked by higher than expected unemploymentlevels if the Environmental Protection Agency refuses to ban the herbicide atrazine, which corn farmers say is vital to their ability to compete, according to a leading economist at the University of Chicago. “The economics are clear, and they are potentially disastrous for farmers in the corn belt,” said eco- corn farmers as much as $58 per acre, more than double an earlier estimate by the EPA. This figure includes more expensive alternatives and lost yields because the alternatives are less effective. Coursey noted that atrazine is widely used because growers know it is safe to use, highly reli- nomics professor Don Coursey, Ph.D. of the University of Chicago, who has studied atrazine exten- sively. Based on studies that Dr. Coursey has conducted, banning atrazine will wipe out between 21,000 and 48,000 jobs related to corn production, with additional job losses in both the sugarcane and sorghum industries. Total eco- nomic losses to the U.S. economy could reach as high as $5billion. “The range is wide because we have never before banned a product on which so many depend and for which suitable replacements have a wide variety of prices and application regimes,” Dr. Coursey said. “These numbersare big enough to be felt throughout the corn belt,” he added. “They will first arise on marginal farms and move on to marginal business in corn- dominated communities.” If all those jobs were lost in agriculture, unemployment rates in that sector would grow by as muchas 2.6 percent. Were they concentrated in corn production alone, unemploymentin that sector would grow by 10.9-25 percent, the economics professor pointed out. While job losses stemming from a ban are unlikely to be felt exclusively in the corn sector, such measures are useful to gauge the magnitude of the potential impact. “Since 95 percent of all U.S. corn farms are family farms, the impact would be felt very close to home,” said Dr. Coursey. In addition to corn, losses in sorghum and sugarcane would hurt the farm economy significantly. The EPA’s 2003 estimate for sugar cane was 10-40 percent crop loss on affected acres, or between $89 million and $340 million of value. Governments and health authorities around the world have given atrazine a clean bill of health and the U.S. EPA recently reregistered the product after an exhaustive 12-year study. Late last year, however, in response to the calls of anti-pesticide activists, the EPA began an unscheduled review of the pesticide that has many in the farm community deeply concerned. “Atrazine is essential to U.S. able and extremely effective. “If farmers had better alternatives, they would use them now,” Coursey commented. Other losses, not included in the per-acre estimates, would be borneby society at large. For instance, sedimentary runoff is the top pollutant of our streams and rivers. Atrazine makes conservation tillage possible for many corn growers, keep- ing soil on the land and out of our water. Losing this societal benefit will bring incalculable costs to community water systems, mean- ing average Americans. “It comes down to this: A ban on atrazine would serve as a pure tax on corn production,” Dr. Coursey said. “Its impact would be felt clearly in America’s corn- growing rural heartland. The region would be hit hard.” Moreover, the professor pointed out, unintended and unforeseeable consequences—such as weed escapes from substitute protection agriculture. We appreciate Dr. programs—could have serious and lasting effects “over and above the tribute them to our members, the EPA and to our elected representatives,” said Jere White, execu- inputs based on anything less Coursey’s findings and will dis- significant negative consequences in the study.” “Wiping out established tive director of the Kansas Corn Growers Association. “With unemployment still painfully high than clear and compelling sci- the corn yield that sustains them.” concluded. across the nation, we can’t afford to lose as many as 50,000 jobs and ence treats jobs and income cheaply—and expresses wanton indifference to our need for economic recovery,Dr. Coursey
