In a recent legal skirmish with a federal appeals court, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) back-pedaled on its interim decision regarding the use of glyphosate. As a result, no-tillers can continue to use glyphosate without any added restrictions at least through 2026.

The use of glyphosate for weed control is a big deal for no-tillers, according to data from our 14th annual No-Till Operational Farmer Benchmark study. It shows 83% of No-Till Farmer readers use glyphosate on no-till soybeans and 65% on no-till corn.

The EPA’s unusual legal maneuver means the agency will now only undertake a final review of glyphosate, which had already been scheduled for 2026. Based on a review of more than 800 glyphosate studies conducted worldwide, the EPA insists the herbicide is safe to use and does not cause human health concerns. Current glyphosate label uses remain unaffected by this EPA action.

This one-upmanship legal move took place after the EPA argued it could not complete an ecological review of the compound by the Oct. 1 deadline set by the Ninth Court of Appeals in June of 2022. When the proposed interim decision was originally published in May 2019, the EPA received 283,000 public comments. It took more than 9 months for EPA scientists to review these documents.

Immediate Glyphosate Cancellation Denied

In June, the appeals court judges agreed with farm worker, environmental and food safety advocacy groups that the EPA did not adequately consider whether glyphosate causes cancer and threatens a number of  endangered species…