South Dakota State University can proceed in a lead role with the state Department of Agriculture investigating whether herbicides are injuring trees, the state Board of Regents decided Wednesday.

 

The agreement ends May 31, 2020. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska also will collect leaves. Fifty to 200 samples will be taken in each of the six states.

 

SDSU will lead the work with John Ball as principal investigator. The state department will provide $38,490 to SDSU. The university will cover the remaining $9,199.

 

The matter was part of the regents' consent agenda so there wasn't discussion.

 

The narrative for the agreement notes: "Glyphosate, atrazine, 2,4-D, and dicamba are widely used agricultural herbicides with some of the highest usage, measured in pounds per acres, in the croplands of the Midwestern and Great Plains states.

 

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