Investigate Midwest (https://investigatemidwest.org/series/dicamba/)
“With soybeans, people are out looking for it because it can affect their bottom line,” said Nathan Donley, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “With milkweed, the lack of complaints doesn’t mean it’s not there. It’s just not widely reported on.”
Join us for a panel discussion featuring weed scientists, industry leaders and community members as we delve into the issues that arose with dicamba. There will be time after the moderated panel for an audience Q & A session.
The event is free but RSVP required. Light refreshments will be served.
We've also put together a fact sheet so you can ask questions, too.
More than 5,400 pesticide applicators and farmers have attended free trainings on spraying the herbicide dicamba throughout Illinois. Here's what reporter Anna Casey learned while attending one of them.
The announcement comes after Monsanto posted record profits in Fiscal Year 2017, largely because of a demand for its new generation of genetically modified soybean and cotton seeds.
The emails – contained in more than 60 pages of documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act - show the companies often suggested how to deal with the complaints, sometimes without any solicitation from department officials.
The warning came from an industry group of pesticide applicators during a December 2016 meeting held to discuss whether the pesticide should be designated as “restricted use,” which means only certified applicators can apply the pesticide. A non-restricted use pesticide can be purchased and applied by anyone and records of application are not required.
In August, the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association surveyed its 178 agriculture retail companies about their experience with dicamba this growing season. The association received 124 responses, which were anonymous. The overwhelming majority of respondents reported issues with dicamba, even when following the label.
Tougher restrictions will be coming to the label for the weed killer dicamba, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday, according to a report from Reuters.
As soybean and cotton farmers across the Midwest and South continue to see their crops ravaged from the weed killer dicamba, new complaints have pointed to the herbicide as a factor in widespread damage to oak trees.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided to allow use of the herbicide dicamba in 2018, but with safeguards, according to a report by Reuters.