A Missouri peach farmer is suing Monsanto over 700 acres of orchard and timber damage believed to be caused by dicamba drift in 2016. DTN reports the farm lost more than 30,000 peach trees this year to alleged dicamba drift and another 7,000 trees last year, resulting in a $1.5 million gross loss of sales. Bader (Bay-der) Farms from Southeast Missouri is the state’s largest peach farm and alleges Monsanto knowingly marketed its Xtend cotton and soybean seeds to farmers without any safe herbicide. The suit claims Monsanto knew the only option purchasers would have to protect crops grown from those seeds from weed pressure would be to spray dicamba illegally. In a prepared statement to DTN, a Monsanto spokesperson said: “While we sympathize with those who have been impacted by farmers who chose to apply dicamba illegally, this lawsuit attempts to shift responsibility away from individuals who knowingly and intentionally broke state and federal law and harmed their neighbors in the process.” Missouri agriculture officials are investigating 124 dicamba-related complaints this year.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.