Guest Contribution: Farmers Know How To Take Care of Their Land. Let them.

By: Terry Jones

Lloyd Haderlie is exactly right—glyphosate isn’t just safe, it’s essential for conservation. Yet groups like the Idaho Conservation League, aligned with California activists, push an agenda that would strip farmers of the very tools that make conservation possible for farmers.

No-till farming and cover crops—key to improving soil health and reducing agriculture’s impact—depend on glyphosate. Without it, farmers would need to till more, leading to erosion, water loss, and higher carbon emissions. Since 2016, reduced tillage enabled by glyphosate has helped farmland capture the equivalent of 32.5M tons of CO2 annually and cut irrigation water use by nearly 20%. Glyphosate also plays a key role in wildfire prevention by controlling invasive weeds that fuel fires. Removing it would make protecting farms, ecosystems, and communities even harder.

Despite overwhelming scientific consensus on glyphosate’s safety, activists and trial lawyers are waging war on Idaho agriculture, undermining conservation gains and the $632 million in farm bill investments meant to support them. Using scare tactics and junk lawsuits, they push an agenda that isn’t about conservation—it's about profit. The end result will leave Idaho farmers forced into more expensive and harsher chemical alternatives, and at worst, drive many out of business.

H.B. 303 ensures decisions about tools like glyphosate are based on facts, not fearmongering for profit. It protects farmers’ ability to keep their land productive, prevent wildfires, and grow the food Idaho families rely on. Lawmakers must stand with farmers and pass H.B. 303—because preserving smart conservation practices is key to protecting Idaho’s land, water, and way of life.

Terry Jones is a dairy farmer who currently resides in Emmett, Idaho.