Skip to content
  • About Investigate Midwest
  • Board of Directors
  • User Agreement and Privacy Policy
  • Donor Transparency
  • Editorial Independence Policy
  • Contact Us
Subscribe
Donate Now
  • Subscribe
  • Donate Now
  • logo
  • logo
  • Illinois
  • IowaWatch
  • Region
  • National
  • Send us a tip securely
  • About Investigate Midwest
    • Pitch us
    • Our Awards
    • Jobs
  • Donate Now
  • More
    • About Investigate Midwest
    • Board of Directors
    • User Agreement and Privacy Policy
    • Donor Transparency
    • Editorial Independence Policy
    • Contact Us

Investigate Midwest The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting

Investigate Midwest (https://investigatemidwest.org/tag/gary-schmitz/)

  • Illinois
  • IowaWatch
  • Region
  • National
  • Send us a tip securely
  • About Investigate Midwest
    • Pitch us
    • Our Awards
    • Jobs
Subscribe

Gary Schmitz

Bader Farms

Dicamba on trial: Despite assurances to farmers, BASF told pesticide applicators dicamba may cause soybean damage

By Johnathan Hettinger | February 3, 2020

While BASF was telling farmers there would be no yield impacts from dicamba drift in 2017, the company was privately telling pesticide applicators that any drift they caused could cause yield loss, according to Monday video testimony from Gary Schmitz, tech service regional manager for the Midwest. Schmitz was the first official from BASF to testify in the ongoing trial of the civil lawsuit filed by Bader Farms, the largest peach farm in Missouri. In the lawsuit, Bader Farms alleges that Monsanto, which was acquired by Bayer in 2018, and BASF knew their dicamba-related products released beginning in 2015 would cause damage to other farmers, yet released the products anyway. 

Monsanto released cotton seeds genetically engineered to withstand being sprayed by dicamba in 2015 and similar soybean seeds in 2016, but neither BASF nor Monsanto released accompanying herbicides, designed to be less volatile than older versions of dicamba, until 2017. In 2015 and 2016, many farmers illegally sprayed BASF’s older versions of the volatile herbicide on their dicamba-tolerant crops, according to the lawsuit. Bader Farms alleges that it is no longer a sustainable business after being hit by dicamba drift each year since 2015.

About Us

Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public interest by exposing dangerous and costly practices of influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism.

The American Farm Bureau Federation claims it’s the ‘Voice of Agriculture.’ These groups beg to differ.

Database: Tracking Covid-19’s impact on meatpacking workers and industry

USDA photo by Preston Keres

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) meat inspectors and graders perform their mission.

SERESTO: what we’ve discovered so far about the popular collars linked to pet injuries and deaths

OPINION

Follow Investigate Midwest

Like Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on InstagramSubscribe via RSS
Tweets by @IMidwest

Thanks to our sponsors

loganfoundation mccormick foundation

Member Of

Member
  • Investigate Midwest
  • About Investigate Midwest
  • Contact Us
  • Support Investigate Midwest

About Investigate Midwest

Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public interest by exposing dangerous and costly practices of influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism.

Search This Site

Browse Archives

© Copyright 2022, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting

Investigate Midwest is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News

Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Back to top ↑

The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Learn More
Privacy & Cookies Policy