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Dicamba drift damage complaints lodged by farmers in many states
By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent
 
PEORIA, Ill. — Citing more than 550 complaints of crop-damaging dicamba drift this year alone, the Arkansas Legislative Council upheld the state legislature’s earlier emergency ban of dicamba-based weed control products on July 7.
 
The same day, the Missouri Department of Agriculture temporarily issued a Stop Sale, Use or Removal Order on all dicamba products in the state. More than 130 pesticide drift complaints received by the department since Jan. 1 are believed to be related to dicamba products.

The Arkansas ban, which came in June at the recommendation of the Arkansas State Plant Board, imposed a 120-day embargo on the sale and use of dicamba products. The action took away a key post-emergence weed control option from farmers who planted dicamba-resistant crops – but also provided protection from off-target, often-illegal dicamba applications affecting other growers in The Natural State.

Manufacturers of dicamba herbicides are left to defend the safety and effectiveness of their products in the court of public opinion and in the national media. The decision of the Arkansas legislature, upheld in special session, “was made without hearing directly from farmers about the impact of removing a valuable weed management tool,” according to Monsanto Co., maker of dicamba-based XTend Max, “(and) without providing sufficient notice to the public and without allowing the opportunity for public input.”

Instead, the company maintains, “The Plant Board did not allow farmers to describe how the board’s mid-season action to abruptly remove a valuable weed management tool would affect their operations in connection with the approximately 1.5 million acres of dicamba-tolerant seed already planted throughout Arkansas. 
“Instead, the board based its decision on off-target movement claims that are still being investigated and have not been substantiated.” In-season, or “over the top,” application of dicamba herbicides has been approved in Arkansas by the U.S. EPA for two years and remains a hot issue that has literally reached over fencerows to divide neighbors, fellow farmers and rural communities. The situation boiled over in 2016 when a 26-year-old farmer, Allan C. Jones, shot his farmer-neighbor, Mike Wallace, 55, of Monette, Ark. The death was the culmination of a drift incident that had allegedly damaged crops on Wallace’s property. Often at issue is the illegal use of previous, currently unapproved dicamba products that are more volatile and prone to drift than the newest EPA-approved version (which, in addition to Monsanto, is also sold by BASF and DuPont). Farmers were instructed not to spray dicamba-resistant seeds until the new dicamba version was released for 2016, but there have been confirmed incidents of illegal spraying of the older versions of the product. At least 200,000 acres have been damaged by drift from farmers using the older, recalled versions of dicamba herbicides, the law firm of Morgan and Morgan – which is representing complainants in class action litigation – estimated in early July. Ty Witten, crop protection lead for Monsanto, said his company is eager to determine just how much of the reported damage in Arkansas, Missouri and elsewhere – including Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, North Carolina and Minnesota – can be assigned to usage of unapproved dicamba versions. “The biggest thing is that we want to ensure growers’ capabilities in having a choice in weed control. At the same time we want to make sure that the use pattern and technology is used appropriately,” he said, before the Arkansas ban was upheld. “We welcome the opportunity to work along with the state and state extension specialists. We also respect the opportunity for the state to make their decision. We just ask that they do it appropriately, with open communication in the entire public and looking at this with real data, versus a lack of data.” Witten said Monsanto has no plans to pull from shelves dicamba products in Arkansas or elsewhere, and is not considering relabeling its product to discourage in-season use of the popular herbicide. “We simply recommend that growers do not use unapproved dicamba, and that they follow the label requirements. There have been instances when growers are using products that are not approved. We encourage every grower to make appropriate choices, and use approved products in accordance with the label,” he said. In recent weeks, alleged crop damage resulting from off-target, unauthorized in-season dicamba applications drifted east of the Mississippi River. As of July 6, six damage complaints had been registered with the Illinois Department of Agriculture, according to spokesperson Morgan Booth. “The complaints originate from various locations within the state,” she said, adding that until recent weeks no Illinois farmers had registered complaints. As far east as North Carolina, tobacco growers are filing claims of dicamba-spray damage, according to the state extension office. The Center for Biological Diversity is calling for a permanent ban on dicamba pesticides in Arkansas and elsewhere, calling the recent incidents proof that the substance is unsafe for use. “Assurances from pesticide makers that new dicamba products and lighter application regulations would end the drift problems that damaged hundreds of thousands of acres simply ignored reality,” said senior scientist Nathan Donley. “And it’s only going to get worse – Monsanto predicts that annual dicamba use on soybeans and cotton will jump from less than 1 million pounds just a few years ago to more than 25 million over the next three to four years.” Missouri Agriculture Director Chris Chinn indicated the door may not yet be closed to further in-season dicamba applications before the 2017 harvest. “We want to protect farmers and their livelihoods. At the same time, my commitment to technology and innovation in agriculture is unwavering,” Chinn said. “That’s why I am asking the makers of these approved post-emergent products, researchers and farmers to work with us to determine how we can allow applications to resume this growing season, under certain agreed-upon conditions.”
7/14/2017