This article was originally published in The Organic & Non-GMO Report
John Williams, manager of the Urbana, IL organic farm Sola Gratia, noticed a reduction in yields this summer. On the twelve acres of vegetables surrounded by a neighborhood, he saw plant leaves that were deformed, producing unexpectedly low yields. His director Traci Barkley reached out to other growers and university specialists and discovered the problem: weedkiller residue was drifting onto crop fields, damaging leaves and impacting crop outputs. “We’re talking about, likely, an event where a product was applied a quarter mile away or half-a-mile away,” Barkley said.
The two primary chemicals responsible for the damage are 2,4-D and dicamba, which can transform from liquid to gas and drift for long distances. Other than planting trees around the farm to protect from drift, not much can be done. “When you talk about specialty crop. producers, you know, we don’t even have crop insurance that applies to us right now,” Barkley said. “So, we’re hit pretty hard by things like this. And it’s not just us—it’s orchards and other growers as well.” Sola Gratia expects to lose $10,000 on their pepper crop alone this year. Source: WCIA.com