Heartland Region - HH-RA.org

Bibliography Tag: heartland region

Dewey, 2017

Caitlin Dewey, “This miracle weed killer was supposed to save farms. Instead, it’s devastating them.” The Washington Post, 8/29/2017.

SUMMARY:

Washington Post story reports on ongoing damage from dicamba. Important points in the article include the potential for drift- “According to a 2004 assessment, dicamba is 75 to 400 times more dangerous to off-target plants than the common weed killer glyphosate, even at very low doses. It is particularly toxic to soybeans — the very crop it was designed to protect — that haven’t been modified for resistance.” Reports on latest numbers- 3.1 million acres in 16 states. ‘“It’s really hard to get a handle on how widespread the damage is,” said Bob Hartzler, a professor of agronomy at Iowa State University. “But I’ve come to the conclusion that [dicamba] is not manageable.”’ FULL TEXT

Smith, 2010

Steve Smith, “Deployment of Dicamba-resistant soybeans and what it will mean to canned and frozen food processors and specialty crop growers in the Midwest,” Testimony before Congress, Domestic Policy Subcommittee of Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, September 30, 2010.

SUMMARY:

Steve Smith, the Director of Agriculture at Red Gold, the largest canned tomato processor in the U.S., testifies before Congress on the approval of dicamba-resistant soybeans. FULL TEXT

Coupe et. al, 2012

Richard H Coupe, Stephen J Kalkhoff, Paul D Capelc, and Caroline Gregoired, “Fate and transport of glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid in surface waters of agricultural basins,” Pest Management Science, 2012, 68:1, 16-30, DOI: 10.1002/ps.2212.

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND: Glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] is a herbicide used widely throughout the world in the production of many crops and is heavily used on soybeans, corn and cotton. Glyphosate is used in almost all agricultural areas of the United States, and the agricultural use of glyphosate has increased from less than 10 000 Mg in 1992 to more than 80 000 Mg in 2007. The greatest intensity of glyphosate use is in the midwestern United States, where applications are predominantly to genetically modified corn and soybeans. In spite of the increase in usage across the United States, the characterization of the transport of glyphosate and its degradate aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) on a watershed scale is lacking.

RESULTS: Glyphosate and AMPA were frequently detected in the surface waters of four agricultural basins. The frequency and magnitude of detections varied across basins, and the load, as a percentage of use, ranged from 0.009 to 0.86% and could be related to three general characteristics: source strength, rainfall runoff and flow route.

CONCLUSIONS: Glyphosate use in a watershed results in some occurrence in surface water; however, the watersheds most at risk for the offsite transport of glyphosate are those with high application rates, rainfall that results in overland runoff and a flow route that does not include transport through the soil. FULL TEXT

Mahler et. al, 2017

Mahler BJ, Van Metre PC, Burley TE, Loftin KA, Meyer MT, Nowell LH, “Similarities and differences in occurrence and temporal fluctuations in glyphosate and atrazine in small Midwestern streams (USA) during the 2013 growing season,” Science of the Total Environment, 2017 ,579:149-158. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.10.236.

ABSTRACT:

Glyphosate and atrazine are the most intensively used herbicides in the United States. Although there is abundant spatial and temporal information on atrazine occurrence at regional scales, there are far fewer data for glyphosate, and studies that compare the two herbicides are rare. We investigated temporal patterns in glyphosate and atrazine concentrations measured weekly during the 2013 growing season in 100 small streams in the Midwestern United States. Glyphosate was detected in 44% of samples (method reporting level 0.2μg/L); atrazine was detected above a threshold of 0.2μg/L in 54% of samples. Glyphosate was detected more frequently in 12 urban streams than in 88 agricultural streams, and at concentrations similar to those in streams with high agricultural land use (>40% row crop) in the watershed. In contrast, atrazine was detected more frequently and at higher concentrations in agricultural streams than in urban streams. The maximum concentration of glyphosate measured at most urban sites exceeded the maximum atrazine concentration, whereas at agricultural sites the reverse was true. Measurement at a 2-day interval at 8 sites in northern Missouri revealed that transport of both herbicide compounds appeared to be controlled by spring flush, that peak concentration duration was brief, but that peaks in atrazine concentrations were of longer duration than those of glyphosate. The 2-day sampling also indicated that weekly sampling is unlikely to capture peak concentrations of glyphosate and atrazine.

Begemann and Skiles, 2017

Sonja Begemann and Susan Skiles Luke, July 10, 2017, “Arkansas, Missouri Ban Dicamba,” AgWeb.

SUMMARY:

Effective just after midnight on July 11, Arkansas finalizes a 120-day emergency ban on dicamba sales and use. Missouri also banned dicamba the week before, with the intent of re-opening sales once the investigation into complaints of damage from dicamba drift is complete. The Missouri Soybean Association is quoted as saying that more than 200,000 acres of soybeans are affected in the state. In a statement, Monsanto stressed the importance of “following label and local requirements” for their Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System of dicamba-resistant soybeans. The article lists the number of complaints of dicamba damage in Arkansas as “nearly 600,” up from the 500 reported on July 6, 2017. FULL TEXT

Charles, 2017b

Dan Charles, “Damage From Wayward Weedkiller Keeps Growing,” July 6, 2017, NPR.

SUMMARY:

NPR Morning Edition radio piece reports that dicamba-related complaints in Arkansas are up from 250 at the end of June to 550 by July 6th. Estimates of potential damaged soybeans are up to 2 million acres. The new Monsanto dicamba resistant cotton and soybean is being blamed for this damage from an herbicide that has been in use for over 50 years. As one farmer quoted in the story puts it, “This technology cannot be allowed to exist. It cannot co-exist with other crops.” On the other side of the debate, farmers using the GE crops claim that dicamba is working great against the herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth that is plaguing their fields, and Monsanto’s head of crop protection sees all this as “just part of the learning curve.” FULL TEXT

Hickey, 2017

Chris Hickey, “Legislative Panel Delays Decision On Arkansas Dicamba Ban,” July 6, 2017, NPR.

SUMMARY:

Reports that the subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council deferred a decision on whether to ban use and sale of dicamba. Governor Asa Hutchinson referred the decision to the committee following hi approval of a 120-day emergency ban proposed by the Arkansas Plant Board. The subcommittee did approve an emergency rule to increase fines up to $25,000 for misuse of dicamba. All this follows the approval in December of BASF’s Engenia dicamba-based herbicide. The board will re-convene to continue the debate the following week. FULL TEXT

Associated Press, 2017b

Associated Press, “Farm chemical linked to oak damage,” July 2, 2017, Quad-City Times,

SUMMARY:

Reports that almost 1,000 residents of Iowa have contacted the state Department of Natural Resources about damaged leaves on oak trees (photo, right) that looked like insect damage. Research from the University of Illinois in 2004 showed that herbicide drift was likely linked to the condition, known as leaf tatters, due to exposure to chloroacetanilide herbicides like dicamba. Exposure occurs from direct drift but also through atmospheric volubility in areas not close to where the herbicide was applied. White oaks are particularly susceptible, and trees can die if damage to the leaves occurs over multiple years. FULL TEXT

Steed, 2017

Stephen Steed, “Governor approves dicamba prohibition in Arkansas,” Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette,

SUMMARY:

Reports that on June 31, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson submitted a letter that approved the Arkansas Plant Board’s proposed 120-emergency ban on dicamba sale and use in the state. He wrote that ” the volume of complaints do justify emergency action;” 507 complaints had been received as of June 31st. The proposed ban next goes to a subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council for review, although their approval is not required for the ban to take effect. The article reports that complaints in neighboring states are also up, with 100 in Missouri and 48 in Mississippi as of the end of June 2017. FULL TEXT

Bennett, 2017b

Chris Bennett, “Arkansas Dicamba Ban Passes, Heads to Governor’s Desk,” June 26, 2017, AgPro.

SUMMARY:

Report on the vote of the Arkansas plant board on June 23 for a 120-day emergency ban on dicamba use after 242 complaints of damage from drift were received. The article points out the huge problem of herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth in Arkansas fields, and the issue of seed availability, estimating that in 2018 70-80% of the seed available will be of the Xtend GE-variety, creating a greater need for dicamba.

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