Brown Farms planted signs in their Decatur, Illinois, fields last spring. The wooden markers identifying the soybean field as non-GMO or LibertyLink were visual reminders that the crop within was sensitive to certain herbicides.

 

This year the farm has the option of calling on the power of digital signs, as well, said David Brown, who farms with his brother, Joe, and son, Chase.

 

They plan to map their sensitive fields in FieldWatch, the largest national, map-based registry of specialty crops (DriftWatch), beehives (BeeCheck), and row crops (CropCheck). The non-profit company allows farmers and beekeepers to log their property boundaries for pesticide applicators to check before spraying. The services are free to all users.

 

Growers aren't the only ones looking to FieldWatch for protection. The federal labels for dicamba herbicides XtendiMax, Engenia, FeXapan and Tavium now require applicators to document and consult a sensitive-crop registry before spraying.

 

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