Farmers of soybeans and other crops in southeast Missouri, western Tennessee and northeastern Arkansas are facing widespread crop damage believed to be the result of illegal spraying of dicamba, an older herbicide that is finding new life as a tool to battle glyphosate-resistant weeds.
In four Missouri Bootheel counties alone, more than 100 complaints of pesticide drift have been reported since June 22, according to a representative from the Missouri Department of Agriculture. For comparison, the department typically receives 75 to 80 complaints statewide in an entire year. Experts say that all signs point to dicamba as the culprit behind the surge.
鈥淭he symptoms match what we would expect coming out of dicamba,鈥 said Kevin Bradley, an associate professor in the University of Missouri鈥檚 division of plant sciences, and a lead scientist for the university鈥檚 agricultural extension. Possible exposure to the herbicide has been officially reported on 40,000 acres of soybeans in the state, causing the plants鈥 leaves to pucker and potentially hurting yields across the region.
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State investigations into each complaint are ongoing, but many suspect the problem stems from farmers who have planted Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans 鈥 a dicamba-resistant crop variety released this year by Creve Coeur-based Monsanto Co. But, the dicamba-based herbicide meant to be applied to Xtend seeds has not yet been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, leaving farmers without the tool intended to fight increasingly stubborn weeds that have developed resistance to other herbicides, like Roundup, which has glyphosate as its active ingredient.
Even without the corresponding herbicide, Monsanto began releasing the seeds because the company says they offered farmers attributes 鈥 such as improved yields 鈥 beyond dicamba tolerance. Monsanto officials reported that seeds for 1 million acres of soybeans have been sold with the technology this year, along with 3 million acres of cotton, introduced in 2015.
Some farmers, it appears, have taken matters into their own hands, spraying other forms of dicamba that are unauthorized for use with Xtend crops. This alleged 鈥渙ff-label鈥 use of the herbicide leaves dicamba-resistant plants unharmed, but can drift into neighboring fields, either when blown by wind or when liquid particles turn to gas and spread as vapor.
鈥淚t basically boils down to the fact that you have a very sensitive crop in soybeans planted in close proximity to crops that are a GMO (genetically modified organism) that is able to withstand dicamba,鈥 Bradley said. 鈥淎nd some people made dicamba applications, allegedly, and hurt people鈥檚 crops.鈥
Even low dicamba concentrations measuring in parts per million can damage non-GMO varieties of soybeans. That sensitivity has led companies like Monsanto to seek less volatile forms of the herbicide that do not vaporize as easily.
Monsanto says the Xtend-compatible dicamba still seeking approval offers that lower volatility than dicamba alternatives currently on the market. But in its absence, drift from suspected 鈥渂ad actors鈥 knowingly using unapproved substitutes is taking its toll.
Although dicamba damage can be seen visually, its ultimate effect on yields won鈥檛 be known until harvest. Whatever its impact, insurance companies have indicated that they will not compensate farmers for losses related to wrongful dicamba usage.
鈥淭hat still doesn鈥檛 keep a person from suing personally and I鈥檓 afraid that鈥檚 what鈥檚 going to happen,鈥 said Terry Weaver, a farmer near Holcomb, speculating on how some victims may resort to litigation to recover losses. But linking diminished yields directly to dicamba 鈥 and to a specific wrongdoer on top of that 鈥 could be difficult.
鈥淭he problem with dicamba is it travels so easily and so far that it鈥檚 hard to pinpoint where it actually came from,鈥 said Kade McBroom, a farmer and the operator of Malden Specialty Soy, a processing facility for non-GMO soybeans in the area. 鈥淭hat burden of proof can get kind of tricky.鈥
Many farmers have said that there are not sufficient penalties in place to deter illegal use of herbicides, likening the current $1,000 fine 鈥 enforced by the state Department of Agriculture 鈥 to a slap on the wrist.
鈥淚f the speeding ticket鈥檚 $5, why worry about it,鈥 Weaver said. 鈥淚f they get a clean field, that鈥檚 a whole lot cheaper than getting it clean with hand-hoeing.鈥
While calling the behavior 鈥渟elfish,鈥 Weaver said that illegal dicamba application was a predictable outcome when farmers can spray a field for a fraction of the cost that it would take to manually remove Roundup-resistant nuisances like pigweed.
State Rep. Don Rone, R-Portageville, said he will introduce legislation that would give 鈥渕ore teeth鈥 to penalties for off-label herbicide use. But some worry that harsher fines 鈥 which would require legislative approval in 2017 鈥 will not emerge soon enough.
鈥(Farmers) feel like there鈥檚 not going to be very much repercussion for the damage done this year, so they鈥檙e expecting to see it again next year,鈥 said McBroom, who has had suppliers to his non-GMO soy business say that they may switch to Xtend seeds just to ensure that they have a crop next year.
If enough growers feel pressured to follow suit, McBroom says that the diversity of agriculture in the Bootheel could be severely compromised, noting that other local crops like peaches, melons and tomatoes have also been affected.
鈥淎nytime you take away options, you take away opportunities,鈥 McBroom said. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 do anything to stop this, it鈥檚 going to happen year after year until everyone鈥檚 planting dicamba-resistant crops or they鈥檙e not planting anything at all. ... That seems to be the path we鈥檙e on.鈥
He believes stamping out illegal spraying could be difficult 鈥 even with steeper fines and when the less-volatile dicamba hits the market. If just one farmer elects for an off-label but cheaper form of dicamba, then a wide radius of non-resistant plantings are at risk.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a little naive to think that 10 out of 10 farmers are going to do this properly every time,鈥 McBroom said.
Dicamba, however, is here to stay as a key tool in modern agribusiness. The herbicide itself is not new, but the recent development of dicamba-resistant seeds is giving it newfound popularity.
Monsanto is ramping up its investment in dicamba, pouring $975 million into the expansion of a Louisiana facility that will produce it and aiming to supply 15 million acres of Xtend soybeans in the coming fiscal year. And with weeds strengthening their resistance to Roundup, some farmers see dicamba as a necessity.
鈥淲e鈥檙e using other chemicals but it鈥檚 not working very good, because (weeds) are immune to the Roundup and the old chemistry,鈥 said Weaver, who added that having just one pigweed plant for every 2 feet of row crop can slash yields by 30 percent.
鈥淔or the American farmer to survive in this part of the country, we have got to have that technology and that herbicide.鈥
The EPA is reviewing public comments received on Monsanto鈥檚 new variety of dicamba, with the process expected to conclude by late summer or early fall. When used properly, the EPA states that dicamba use is not harmful to humans and does 鈥渘ot cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment.鈥