USDA finds crop return gain when glyphosate resistance is managed

Glyphosate, more widely known by the trade name Roundup, is the most widely used herbicide in the United States.

But widespread and exclusive use of glyphosate, without other weed control strategies, can induce resistance to the herbicide, allowing more resistant weeds to survive, propagate and spread.

Resistant weed seeds can be spread across fields by animals, equipment, people, wind or and water.

Consequently, controlling weed resistance depends on the joint actions of farmers and their neighbors.

Analyses by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service recently evaluated the long-term financial returns to growers who adopt weed control practices that aim to slow resistance to glyphosate, and compared those returns when neighboring farmers also manage to slow resistance.

Projected net returns - annualized over 20 years - for growers who manage resistance can exceed returns for growers who ignore resistance. These net returns become even higher when neighboring farms also manage resistance.

Projected net returns for growers with neighbors who also manage resistance range 18 to 20 percent higher than those of growers/neighbors who ignore resistance.

The chart attached visualizes data found in the USDA Amber Waves feature - "Managing Glyphosate Resistance May Sustain Its Efficacy and Increase Long-Term Returns to Corn and Soybean Production."