(Bloomberg) – Larry Martin in Illinois says he's never seen anything like it in his 35 years of farming. Arkansas soybean grower Joe McLemore says he faces the loss of his life savings.
They're among farmers across the U.S. suffering from a pesticide “drifting” across from neighboring fields onto their crops, leaving behind a trail of damage. Although not a new problem, it's re-emerged with a vengeance this year. At least 2.5 million acres (1 million hectares) have been damaged in this growing season through mid-July, according to estimates from Kevin Bradley, a professor of plant sciences at the University of Missouri.
Related: Corn processor to use drones for crop insurance claims after FAA approval
|Offending herbicide: Dicamba
Dicamba, the offending herbicide, is produced by seed and crop-chemical giants Monsanto Co., DuPont Co. and BASF SE. It's been around for decades, but in recent years it gained a new lease of life after the companies developed new dicamba-resistant soybean and cotton seeds, allowing farmers to spray crops later in the growing process.
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