NPR reports on dicamba drift overwhelming Midwestern pesticide testing labs. Dicamba is a Bayer Monsanto-manufactured herbicide that was approved for use by the EPA in 2016. Dicamba is sprayed on genetically engineered soybean plants that are resistant to the herbicide and survive, while surrounding weeds die. Since its implementation, dicamba has faced harsh criticism because of its propensity to drift.

Pesticide drift has long been a danger to organic farmers. It’s one reason that organic farmers use buffer zones often planted with trees and hedgerows to create borders around their fields from neighboring conventional fields. Pesticide drifting into an organic field can mean that the crops grown in the field cannot be sold as organic. It can also mean the loss of organic certification for the acreage, which requires farmers to take it through a three-year transition period again.

Dicamba drift can also be a danger to other conventional growers, who may be growing conventional soybeans, but not dicamba-resistant soybeans. Drift from dicamba can mean death and crop loss for their conventional soybeans.

This report highlights how widespread dicamba drift is and how ill-prepared local authorities are to deal with the problem. Drift and the complications that arise from it is only one issue relating to pesticide and herbicide usage. We also know that it contributes to much more, which can be explored in depth on Pesticide Action Network’s website. As a company that supports organic farmers, we believe that we must end the use of pesticides and herbicides for the health of our food, soil, watersheds, and farmers.