WHAT DO YOU WANT?

Dec 07, 2023

MARGARET RIGETTI
LANGBANK, SASKATCHEWAN

Margaret Rigetti finds it hard to imagine the future. “Earlier generations couldn’t imagine where we are now. They just kept adapting,” Rigetti says. “The general principles are to embrace innovation and involve family. Any business requires the energy of youth to keep going.”

Rigetti will always remember the day back in 2003 when her uncle came to her and said, “From now on, you can do the marketing.” She had never thought of taking over the marketing. It wasn’t on her radar. “He was getting tired of it, so he gave me the job and mentored me.” Rigetti has been the farm’s marketing lead ever since.

“I was always told there were opportunities on the farm for me, which was maybe an extra important thing for me as a girl to hear,” she says.

Rigetti has three children – two sons and a daughter. “I just had a conversation with my daughter. I told her she would be running the grain cart,” Rigetti says. “She was nervous, but I said ‘you can do it and we need you to do it’.” The two sons are also involved.

“We’ve found success in grain farming. Is that where my children will find success? Maybe.”

A big question Rigetti has for farming in general is whether agriculture will be allowed to innovate. “The Prairies have seen incredible positive changes as a result of technology,” she says, giving glyphosate, herbicide-tolerant canola and zero-till drills as examples. “Will agriculture be able to reach its full potential without too much outside interference, misinformation and disinformation?”

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Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.