By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH

Indiana Correspondent

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Indiana received about the same amount of dicamba-related drift complaints in 2018 as it did last year despite attempts to better educate herbicide applicators, according to an official with the Office of Indiana State Chemist (OISC).

The office is in the process of conducting 272 drift investigations from 2018, said David Scott, OISC pesticide administrator. Of those, 143 are believed to involve dicamba. Last year, the agency conducted 270 drift investigations; 133 involved dicamba. The number of complaints received this year is a record.

“We were surprised (about the numbers),” he noted. “Our goal was a reduction in the number of complaints. We hoped to achieve that with education and additional restrictions on the label. It appears that did not work for us.”

Beginning this year, OISC required anyone who purchased or applied dicamba for farm use in the state to attend a training session. The Indiana Pesticide Review Board approved new formulations of dicamba last year for use in 2018.

At the time, the board opted to follow guidelines set by the U.S. EPA regarding use of dicamba on genetically engineered soybeans and cotton designed to be tolerant to the product. Included in the EPA guidelines were restrictions based on wind speed and weed height.

Last year, OISC found violations in more than 90 percent of the dicamba-related drift cases, Scott said. Documented violations could result in a civil fine. The penalty may range from a warning letter to a monetary fine depending on the severity of the violation.

In Indiana, a private applicator or farmer faces a $100 fine. For commercial applicators, fines are $250 for the first instance, $500 for the second and $1,000 for three or more.

The experience of investigating complaints is draining on field, office and laboratory staff, he explained. “2017 and 2018 are not sustainable for us. It’s not sustainable year after year. How do we fix this? I don’t know. I don’t know if ‘demoralizing’ is the right word.

“If we experience the same number of complaints each year, do we investigate differently? What do we do to get that to a manageable number? Do we turn some complaints away?”

The EPA’s current registration of dicamba-based herbicides expires next month. The agency could renew the current label with or without changes, or could opt not to renew.

“Honestly, I have no clue (what EPA will do),” Scott explained. “What if EPA doesn’t renew at all or if the label is exactly as it was this year? If they put further restrictions on it, will that fix it?”

Indiana isn’t the only state in this region dealing with more drift-related complaints this year. For example, Illinois has logged 330 alleged dicamba complaints, said Morgan Booth, public information officer for the state’s Department of Agriculture. Last year, the state had 246 alleged complaints.

Enforcement action was taken in 167 of those cases. For the others, there may have been damage from dicamba, but not enough evidence for enforcement action or the complaint was voluntarily withdrawn, she said. The state has offered training required by the EPA but had no additional label restrictions.

“(The increased numbers) are not something we’re proud of,” Booth noted. “I think farmers and applicators are doing everything they can to apply correctly. Some of the increase in complaints might be due to more awareness. Farmers know what to look for.”

Ohio, meanwhile, had 26 dicamba complaints last year and 52 this year so far, according to a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

There are probably more cases of damage than what’s been reported, said Steve Smith, chair of the Save Our Crops Coalition and director of agriculture with Elwood, Ind.-based Red Gold. People don’t like turning in a neighbor, he pointed out. Producers who report damage to their crops might be ineligible for federal crop insurance.

He met with EPA officials in late September. “I have no clue what EPA is going to do (regarding the dicamba label),” Smith said. “In my last meeting, I met with EPA’s political side. In the past, I’ve met with the scientific side. I think (the political side) is where the decision will be made.

“EPA gave it (dicamba) a two-year registration. If they don’t renew it, it’s done. They have to renew or let it run out.”

Smith said his own yard and trees were victims of dicamba drift earlier this year. Damage to his property in the country has been estimated at more than $9,000. “If that would have been a subdivision, it would have been really bad,” he said. “(Dicamba is) just a product that’s not safe.”