Monsanto claims they have not sold Dicamba

Last Wednesday, the Missouri House Select Committee on Agriculture met at the Fisher Delta Research Center's central office in Portageville.

The meeting stems from a request by Missouri District 149 Representative Don Rone, which was granted two weeks ago. Several residents discussed damage caused by the illegal spraying of a dicamba herbicide on crops across southeast Missouri. Rone says Rep. Bill Reibolt, chairman of the House Select Committee on Agriculture, was asked to form the meeting by House Speaker Todd Richardson.

"We don't want to lose the chemistry. We want to fix the problem, and that's why we're meeting," said Rone.

Rone recently told the Associated Press that he looks to bring harsher penalties to those who use dicamba illegally.

"I'm going to add some things into that bill that are not presently there to safeguard the gardener, the person in the town, the peach tree man, the non-typical row crop," he said. "That will be my first order of business when we go back in January is to get that bill passed before the new season, so we'll have to have it before April."

Rone stated he was going to pre-file a bill which would double the fine to $2,000 on the first violation of legal application of a legal product which impacts another person's field. A chronic offender would face a $4,000 fine while those who apply a non-legal product that drifts into another person's field could face a fine of $20,000 per tract.

Duane Simpson, who leads Monsanto's U.S. State and Local Government Affairs team testified last Wednesday, "Monsanto, like all of you, is concerned about the damage we are seeing due to the alleged illegal misuse of pesticides".

Duane Simpson, who leads Monsanto's U.S. State and Local Government Affairs team testified last Wednesday, "Monsanto, like all of you, is concerned about the damage we are seeing due to the alleged illegal misuse of pesticides".

Starting off the testimony at the hearing, conducted at the University of Missouri Delta Center, was Duane Simpson, who leads Monsanto's U.S. State and Local Government Affairs team. Monsanto has developed genetically modified dicamba tolerant cotton and soybeans and currently is awaiting approval from the Environmental Protection Agency to commercialize new formulations of dicamba for use on these crops, Simpson said.

"Monsanto has not sold any dicamba. Period," Simpson emphasized as he began his testimony.

Weed resistance to current chemicals is growing problem, he noted. In Missouri, farmers are currently facing challenges fighting Palmer Amaranth and waterhemp.

For Monsanto, Simpson said, the challenge is dealing with the EPA. He explained, the company made its first submission for approval in April 2010 and the EPA has yet to finalize the label which would detail how the chemical can be used.

"An approved label would give Missouri farmers a cost-effective, new tool to control resistant weeds," Simpson said. "By adding a new tool to combat resistant weeds, dicamba could help reduce this difficult weed pressure and aid significantly in production, reducing economic losses to soybeans and cotton growers."

According to Simpson, once the label is approved by EPA, Monsanto will offer general training with dealers, applicators and farmers on the proper way to use dicamba. "Monsanto, like all of you, is concerned about the damage we are seeing due to the alleged illegal misuse of pesticides," he concluded.

Judy Grundler with the Missouri Department of Agriculture said her department is investigating the many complaints, noting the Ag Department has already tallied some $15,000 in travel costs. Currently none of the investigations are complete and she expects by the time lab work is completed, could take at least another three months. Lab testing alone, Grundler said, takes up to three months and is done by a certified lab in Iowa.

Offering a researcher's point of view, Dr. Kevin Bradley, expressed his frustrations with the limitations placed on university researchers by companies which want to protect their patents. He explained he and other independent researchers have not been able to test dicamba or study its impact.

While the company does its own research on proper spray applications, Bradley was concerned whether this research is unbaised and specific to Missouri.

Many of the local problems, Bradley said, are probably related to volatilization, which occurs when the a herbicide evaporates and drifts off target. This can occur during a temperature inversion, such as when a chemical is sprayed in the evening.

Bradley said misused dicamba causes yield loss when it comes in contact with crops which are in the flowering stages or beyond. The chemical will result in cupped leaves or leaves which are twisted or turned inward. In some cases it has caused malformed fruit or excessive growth in plants.

Farmers recently reported damage after Monstanto released a soybean crop that is resistant to dicamba, but the new herbicide suited for the new crop has not yet been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

At the hearing last Wednesday, Bill Bader, owner of Bader Farms testified the herbicide is highly-volatile, and has a tendency to drift when sprayed illegally.

Bader Farms, one of many affected by over-the-top of the older, illegal form of dicamba.

This year alone the Missouri Department of Agriculture has received complaints of crop damage by the herbicide to more than 40,000 acres of soybeans, peaches, watermelon, peanuts and other crops. According to the Missouri Department of Agriculture, there were over 125 complaints from the counties of Stoddard, New Madrid, Pemiscot and Dunklin with complaints also coming from Butler and Carroll counties.

Also Rone expressed concern about those who are not farming but have dicamba or other chemicals impact their yards or gardens.

"The farmers will fix their problem. They will eventually figure it out. But the people in the communities can't figure it out when it comes into their town. They don't have the ability to to do that," Rone said.

He said it growers must learn to use the compound safely not just for farm fields but the impact it can have on gardens, trees and shrubs.

"So we have got to let the committee do their investigation and come to the Department of Ag with some ideas on how we can safely use this compound," Rone said. "As a farmer I know, I have gone through the very many products that have become through the system. I know we need this compound but we can't have what is going on out there right now. We can't have misuse. We can't have people saying we are going to use this no matter what. "

He said the committee learned a lot from Wednesday's hearing and pointed out in addition to the other House chairmen, the Speaker of the House Todd Richardson attended.

"They are getting a good lesson," Rone concluded.

(Some of the information available from the Standard*Democrat, Sikeston)