By Kristofor Husted
An Iowa soybean harvest
The Missouri Department of Agriculture announced a temporary ban on the sale of agricultural products containing the pesticide dicamba on Friday, following a similar step by regulators in Arkansas.
Dicamba, a popular weedkiller, is suspected in the damage of tens of thousands of farm acres primarily in Arkansas, but also in southeast Missouri and in neighboring states. After farmers sprayed the chemical on their fields -- sometimes with illegal and outdated versions -- the pesticide allegedly drifted over to neighboring farmland, destroying crops.
More than 130 complaints about drift damage have been filed in Missouri this year, according to the state’s Agriculture Department.
Missouri-based agrichemical giant Monsanto created soybean and cotton plants that were genetically engineered to tolerate dicamba, meaning farmers could plant these crops and spray their fields with the chemical, leaving weeds dead but their prized plants safe.
The dicamba debate is especially important today, given that many farmers are worried about the march of a devastating weed called pigweed, or Palmer amaranth. In some areas, Palmer amaranth has developed resistance to some of the most commonly used herbicides. Farmers may, however, be able to use dicamba to cut it down.
Pesticide drift, as it is known, has come to the forefront of agricultural issues as many farmers use different concoctions of chemicals to ensure a strong harvest. Commodity prices are low and farmers are trying to get the strongest yields they can this year.
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