Despite A Ban, Arkansas Farmers Are Still Spraying Controversial Weedkiller
Many farmers in Arkansas are defying efforts by regulators to strictly limit use of dicamba, a popular weedkiller. They continue to damage neighboring crops, although less often than last year.
The fields and back roads of eastern Arkansas were a crime scene this past summer. State inspectors stopped alongside fields to pick up dying weeds. They tested the liquids in farmers' pesticide sprayers. In many cases, they found evidence that farmers were using a banned pesticide. Dozens of farmers could face thousands of dollars in fines.
The roots of the confrontation go back to a farming fiasco that took place last year. That's when the company Monsanto — now owned by Bayer — rolled out a "Honestly, I don't think anybody in the whole world dreamed the dicamba could create such an issue, bring so many farmers against farmers," says Terry Fuller, a member of Arkansas' State Plant Board, which regulates pesticides.
