I think somebody once said, "it's the uncertainly that kills you"?

A tad melodramatic, but it makes a genuine point. Uncertainty in our lives, both personal and in work, is unhelpful, prevents forward planning and can leave us in limbo.

Which is exactly what is happening to turf professionals with the on-going saga regarding the use of glyphosate-based weekillers.

The long-running situation took another delay last week Thursday (November 9th) when an EU vote failed to resolve anything.

A decision over the reauthorisation of glyphosate failed to materialise after several EU member states blocked a proposal to renew the chemical.

The current glyphosate licence runs out in the EU on 15 December. Only half of the 28 member states backed a European Commission proposal to renew the licence for five years.

In a report on the stalemate on BIGGA's website, the association says they believe that the commission will now refer its proposal to the appeals committee, with a hearing likely to take place within the next two weeks.

The decision on the renewal of glyphosate must be taken prior to the expiry date on 15 December.

The UK was among the 14 states backing the Commission position on glyphosate. Nine voted against - including France and Italy. Germany was among the five who abstained.

Glyphosate was introduced by US agrochemical giant Monsanto in 1974, but its patent expired in 2000, and now the chemical is sold by various manufacturers. The Monsanto weedkiller is called Roundup.

The uncertainly surrounding glyphosate isn't purely around whether it's legal for professionals to use the chemical though. There appears to be splits in the scientific community over whether it is carcinogenic or not.

The European Chemical Agency categorically says "There is no evidence to link glyphosate to cancer in humans, based on the available information." However, Googling around the subject one can find toxicology experts willing to dispute those claims, saying the EU study is playing down the cancer risk.

Those of us who aren't scientists well versed in chemical causes of cancer, are of course left to put our trust in experts who are. And to be fair, those in the UK are vocal about its safety and want its reauthorisation to be speedily confirmed.

The NFU for example has called on the European Commission to “take decisive action to reauthorise the use of glyphosate to stop the politicisation of the process.”

Vice president Guy Smith has said, "The overwhelming weight of science and evidence shows that glyphosate is perfectly safe when used correctly.

"There is no reason why glyphosate should not be reauthorised for 15 years, never mind the 10 years the Commission had proposed. We would urge member states to look at the science and base their decision on the evidence - which shows there is no reason not to reauthorise glyphosate."

Let's hope for the sake of all professionals who need to know where they stand with this issue, that the correct decision is reached as quickly as possible. By anyone's standards, this matter has already dragged on far too long.