IFCA’s Payne: Penalizing Dicamba Applicators a ‘Chilling Effect’
All eyes are on Illinois this season. The No. 1 soybean-producing state holds the distinction of logging the nation’s most dicamba drift complaints – doubling each year over the past three years to reach 724 in 2019 – despite strengthened label restrictions on Bayer and BASF’s dicamba formulations.
Under pressure to bring down those numbers, Illinois Department of Agriculture has introduced a bill, SB2507, that would significantly raise the fines for pesticide misuse in the state.
Applicators, maintains Jean Payne, President of the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association, have unfairly borne the brunt of drift fallout. This latest step is yet another punch in the gut.
“Without any clear answers on how the applicator can reduce the problems with off-target movement with dicamba, we feel like now is probably not the best time to be doubling penalties on them,” Payne told CropLife, noting the added costs of training, product segregation, and insurance liability already placed on them.
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Under pressure to bring down those numbers, Illinois Department of Agriculture has introduced a bill, SB2507, that would significantly raise the fines for pesticide misuse in the state.
Applicators, maintains Jean Payne, President of the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association, have unfairly borne the brunt of drift fallout. This latest step is yet another punch in the gut.
“Without any clear answers on how the applicator can reduce the problems with off-target movement with dicamba, we feel like now is probably not the best time to be doubling penalties on them,” Payne told CropLife, noting the added costs of training, product segregation, and insurance liability already placed on them.
Click Here to read more.