Document ID: EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0154-0040
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2023-09-28T04:00Z

Good afternoon. My name is Katie Pratt. I am a fifth-generation farmer. My husband, the seventh generation of his family to farm, and I farm with his parents, brother, and our sister-in-law in northern Illinois. We raise corn, soybeans, seed corn and the 8[th] generation of Pratt farmers . . . if they so choose. 
I also work as the agriculture literacy coordinator for Lee County Agriculture in the Classroom, which means I have the privilege of sharing all things food, fuel, fiber and farm with students and teachers, pre-K to college. My goal in a classroom is to allow students to be curious about the topic at hand. They ask questions, hypothesize, experiment, and discover that sometimes there can be more than one right answer; that sometimes science changes and our answer will change; above all, that critical thinking based on a foundation of facts leads to amazing innovation. Without innovation in agriculture, the United States farmer will not be successful in fulfilling market needs domestically and internationally while stewarding our natural resources that fuel the foundations of our farms. 
The purpose of this meeting is to review the science that will ultimately determine the environmental level of concern for atrazine, potentially change the way I use the product, and threaten my ability to lawfully use it in the future. I am here today because the recommendation of this panel and the final rule will impact my farm and the ability of the eighth generation of our family to farm in the future. 
Water quality is something I probably think more about than the average person. Unlike the general population, the water with which I cook, and I drink is not pre-treated at a water treatment facility but comes from a private well on our property. The management practices we use in our fields directly impact our family's water supply and downstream tributaries. According to the MyWaterWays website hosted by the EPA, the Rock River is our main waterbody source and has "no impairments evaluated for this use" under the category of aquatic life as of 2022. 
Ensuring clean and safe drinking water starts with using best management practices and following label instructions for anything we apply to the fields. 
Atrazine has been on the market and deemed safe for more than 60 years. Not only are we confident in its safety from a human health standpoint, but its safety for use on our crops, specifically seed corn. 
Yellow dent #2 corn that is traded around the world is created using advanced hybrid technology. Two inbred lines of corn - male and female or parents - are crossed during pollination to create a more robust, prolific hybrid. Without the benefit of hybrid vigor, the inbred lines are more susceptible to environmental variability, weed, insect and disease pressure, and the products we apply to the field. 
Atrazine is a safe choice to help control weeds that compete for nutrients, water, and sunlight. We work to control weeds in early growth stages to reduce further applications of herbicide and mitigate weed resistance to crop protection tools down the line. Keeping a variety of crop protection tools at the ready is a best management practice on the farm. Atrazine is one of those tools. 
Our farm is unique. Our soils, our crops, the nuances of our weather patterns are unique. Every farm in Illinois and across the country is different. Farmers learn the strengths and weaknesses of their fields and then choose the right tools from their toolbox to manage their crops and resources. 
The proposed changes and accompanying models assume all farms are the same. Environmental stewardship policies cannot be a one size fits all especially in a state as diverse as Illinois. 
Again, according to EPA data, the waterbody source for our farm is NOT considered atrazine impaired because farmers like me have demonstrated that we are following the current label requirements and employing a variety of crop protection and stewardship practices to match our individual farms. 
As I head back into classrooms and am greeted by the innocent curiosity of youth, I ask that you take that same view. Look at this data with fresh eyes, a scientific mind, and a willingness to consider experience from boots on the ground farmers, who must do better every day, because our business success demands we do. 
Your recommendations will have a long-lasting impact on the public's view of the EPA as a trusted source of sound science and valuable policy.