Tom Polansek, “Monsanto, BASF weed killers strain U.S. states with damage complaints,” Reuters, November 1, 2017.
SUMMARY:
Reports on the latest on the 2017 dicamba damage crisis. Major soybean states such as Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois received roughly 4 years’ worth of complaints about damaged crops. A total of 2,708 damage investigations have been initiated as of October 15th. In Illinois, where they received 421 complaints, the most since 1989, they expect investigations to continue through next year. Investigations will determine if applicators followed lengthy label instructions (up to 4,550 words). Monsanto believes this off-label application is the issue and plans to change usage instructions before the next crop season. The article points out the expense to state ag agencies to cover this surge in complaints and associated staff demands. Some states are putting off other inspections to manage dicamba complaints, and budgets are strained. The EPA has offered 35 states extra grants to help fund dicamba damage investigations, and is helping states by conducting states for low-levels of dicamba. FULL TEXT