University of Illinois weed scientist Aaron Hager said that reports of plant damage from the herbicide dicamba are something that he sees every year, but there were a few factors that made the 2017 growing season rife with complaints to agriculture officials.
 
“I guess in my mind, it really wasn’t a question of if we would see damage to non-dicamba soybeans," Hager said. "But how extensive and how widespread it would be.”
 
Aaron Hager, a professor at the University of Illinois, speaks at the Off-target: A community conversation about dicamba at the Champaign Public Library on February 22.
 
 Hager spoke to a crowd of about 30 people on the topic during a Feb. 22 panel discussion at the Champaign Public Library hosted by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting and Illinois Humanities.
 
Jean Payne, president of the Illinois Chemical & Fertilizer Association, and agronomist Stephanie Porter were also on the panel. The discussion was moderated by Brant Houston, Knight Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting at the University of Illinois.

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