Last Friday, the Illinois Department of Ag hit 100 official complaints of alleged dicamba misuse.  The "official" number of complaints only tells part of the story.  There are also a significant number of claims being filed by farmers with their farm policy insurance agents.  In an average year, IDA receives about 125 total misuse complaints for both ag applications and lawn care applications.  To hit 100 complaints on one specific herbicide activity is unprecedented.  Despite reports to the contrary, this is a big issue in Illinois.  

 

IFCA continues to take calls from retailers and farmers on this issue--many farmers do not want to report the incidents but are looking for assistance and have real concerns.  Your Association is engaged in the issue and we continue to welcome feedback from our members.  Our mission is to assist and represent our members and to support the sound stewardship and utilization of ag inputs.  With that said, we are developing a plan to ensure proactive measures are implemented in the future on this issue.  In Illinois, our government and our citizens expect our industry to address issues of concern with transparency and positive actions and we are engaged in that effort as you read this.  Gathering input from our members is paramount in this process so stay tuned.