Special agents from EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division served federal search warrants on several locations in Cape Girardeau, Dunklin, New Madrid and Stoddard counties in southeastern Missouri, tied to complaints of crop damage from pesticide drift, said the Daily Dunklin Democrat. The EPA is investigating possible misuse of the herbicide dicamba.
The state Agriculture Department received at least 117 complaints, mostly from those four counties, of damage from pesticide drift on more than 42,000 acres of crops this summer. The Democrat said the searches, conducted during the week of Oct. 10, “are part of a continuing criminal investigation into alleged misuse or misapplication of herbicide products containing dicamba.”
In mid-August, the EPA warned it is illegal to use the weedkiller on cotton or soybeans during the growing season. Farmers in 10 states have complained to EPA and state officials of dicamba damage.
The damage is believed to occur because some farmers planted dicamba-resistant GE soybeans and used an unapproved version of the weedkiller. The USDA has approved cultivation of the GE strains, but EPA has not approved a drift-resistant formulation of dicamba to use on them. Seed companies and growers are turning to dicamba because weeds in some regions are developing resistance to glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world.
“Search warrants served by EPA agents were issued by a federal judge in Cape Girardeau to gather evidence of possible violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and other federal crimes,” said the Democrat.
A public hearing is set for Nov. 21 on recommendations by Arkansas’ state Plant Board for further restrictions on dicamba, said Arkansas Online. The penalty for illegal spraying would rise to $25,000 from the current $1,000. Dicamba is approved for killing weeds before planting and after harvests, but not while crops are growing.