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 Dicamba is an herbicide
that selectively kills broad-leafed weeds. It is commonly used with
other herbicides, and mimics plant hormones that cause abnormal
growth, leading to death of a plant.
Dicamba is considered to be more toxic to weeds than other
pesticides, but is considered less dangerous to humans and animals.
However, a downside to dicamba is that it is more “volatile.” In
other words, it is more prone to drifting into other fields, where
it may damage adjacent crops instead of weeds, and especially
soybeans.
Monsanto was working on a new seed crop in 2017 that was resistant
to dicamba, but trouble began to brew in the fields. Before the new
seeds were ready, reports came to light of people using dicamba on
their current crops, despite warnings.
As the year went on, the problem continued to grow for farmers
across the country, despite some states outlawing the use of dicamba.
Both Arkansas and Missouri banned the use of the pesticide, although
some farmers in those states still applied it to their fields.
Despite the issues with drift in 2017, the numbers of complaints
investigated by the government across the country have gone down for
2018. Clinton Griffiths of the Genetic Literacy Project confirms
that assessment. “Following high drift and volatility complains in
2017, Bayer claims those numbers are lower this season,” writes
Griffiths. “According to Bayer, by August this season there were 13
complaints per million acres of seed. That compares to 99 per
million acres last year.”
Griffiths’ report adds that “[in] Missouri, state departments of
agriculture were investigating 605 reports of dicamba-related injury
as of mid-July. That compares to 1,411 complaints at the same time
last year.”
Different sources report different reasons for why the numbers of
dicamba-related claims have fallen. Some research suggests that
various state-level regulations are responsible, but they may not be
the only solution. Juliette Michel of Phys.org adds that “while
total reports of contamination have fallen, they have declined
sharply in states that imposed tough regulations on the pesticide,
while increasing in states that have not.”
Alternatively, some farmers are reporting that proper training and
instruction in the use of pesticides such as dicamba have helped to
reduce their problems. Scott Dauk, a farmer speaking at an
agriculture show in Iowa, reported his own success in reducing crop
damage. Dauk says that he looked for information on what kind of
equipment to use and how to spray the dicamba: “on spraying speed,
pressure and gallons applied per acre. Based on that information, he
was given the nozzles he needed.” Farmers like Dauk have also begun
growing dicamba-resistant seeds that were released earlier this
year.
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Dauk neither saw nor heard of
dicamba drift problems in his area this year. He made sure he was
watchful of adjacent crops, and talked to neighbors about his use of
the herbicide. Additionally, he took extra precaution by adding a
buffer between dicamba-tolerant and non-tolerant soybeans.
But while damage on soybeans has dropped, some experts are warning
farmers not to get too comfortable with the statistics. By way of
example, an early season report in The Progressive Farmer listed -
“in addition to 3,107 potentially injured soybean acres, Missouri
has dicamba complaints for 1,445 tomato plants, 514 acres of
peaches, 75 acres of watermelons, 50 pepper plants, two greenhouses
with vegetables, personal gardens, grapes, 15 rose bushes, and more
than 12 acres of trees” as of June of this year.
Agricultural scientists and experts are warning everyone to remain
cautious, even with the better statistics seen this year. At the
moment, everyone is waiting for the EPA to make a decision on
whether or not to keep the use of dicamba legal, or to completely
ban the substance due to the massive number of complaints in the
last two years. Regardless of that decision, it looks like farmers
are at least able to breathe a little easier this year on the issue.
Sources
Barth, Brian.
“Dicamba, Monsanto, and the Dangers of Pesticide Drift: A Modern
Farmer Explainer.” Modern Farmer. August 9th, 2016.
Griffiths, Clinton. “As ‘Dicamba drift’ crop damage declines, will
EPA re-approve controversial herbicide?” Genetic Literacy Project.
September 24th, 2018.
Michel, Juliette. “US officials face growing pressure over dicamba
herbicide use.” Phys.org. September 20th, 2018.
Mohr, Paula. “Year 2 with dicamba better.” The Farmer. September
18th, 2018.
Ungelsbee, Emily. “Herbicide Injury Reported.” The Progressive
Farmer. June 21st, 2018.
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