In February, a federal judge in Arizona halted the spraying of the herbicide dicamba, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says farmers are allowed to use it for this coming growing season. In this installment of Us & Them, we listen back to a story from our archives, exploring the heated conflict unraveling in agricultural communities.
There’s a nationwide rift among farmers over the use of dicamba, a popular herbicide. A 2024 federal court ruling has halted dicamba’s use, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given the green light for farmers to use existing supplies this year.
In this episode of Us & Them, we revisit a story from our archives that delves into the intense battle unfolding in farm country. Originally designed to help soybean farmers combat ‘pigweed,’ dicamba has proven controversial because it drifts from where it’s sprayed, causing harm to desirable plants. The legal fallout has reached a point where farmers and gardeners hesitate to speak out about crop or plant damage due to fear.
On the flip side, those advocating for dicamba have taken the matter to court, challenging the authority over pesticide use rules in some states. In a departure from the typical tight-knit atmosphere of rural farm communities, where issues are often resolved locally, Arkansas is experiencing an un-neighborly atmosphere, with tensions escalating.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Fund for Investigative Journalism, the West Virginia Humanities Council and the CRC Foundation.
Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.
Terry Fuller, former member of the Arkansas Plant Board, shows Us & Them host Trey Kay the place where several of his hay bales were set ablaze not long after he made public statements calling for limitation on the use of a special formulation of dicamba during the growing season. Fuller also says that two of his tractors were vandalized which caused more than $60,000 worth of damage.
Photo Credit: Loretta WilliamsTerry Fuller, former member of the Arkansas Plant Board, displays a couple of signs that have repeatedly been posted alongside the roads near his house. One sign could be seen from his daughter’s bedroom window on Christmas Day.
Photo Credit: Loretta WilliamsRichard Coy’s family has been in the honey producing business since the 1960s. Over the years, Coy’s Honey Farm became the largest commercial bee business in Arkansas. Coy claims dicamba has had an adverse effect on the plant life necessary for honey bees to thrive and produce honey. He says the conditions got so bad that he and his family had to move their business from Arkansas to Mississippi.
Photo Credit: Loretta WilliamsFranklin Fogelman, a soybean farmer in Arkansas, speaking at a special session of the Arkansas Plant Board in 2019. He believes farmers like him need to be able to use dicamba during the growing season to control weeds in their fields.
Photo Credit: Loretta WilliamsReed Storey, a soybean and cotton farmer, opposes the use of the newer formulations of dicamba during the growing season because he believes the herbicide can harm the crops of neighboring farmers. He sees this as “big agriculture against smaller growers.”
Photo Credit: Loretta WilliamsCharles “Bo” Sloan is the manager of the Dale Bumpers White River Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas. He says dicamba has a tendency to volatilize when the weather gets above 85 degrees. When the chemical transforms into a gas, it can drift away from its intended targets. Sloan has heard the complaints that dicamba might adversely impact agriculture, and is also worried that it might be harming the environment in some of the nation’s protected lands.
Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Check out the original Farm Wars episode the Us & Them team produced for Reveal in 2019.
On this West Virginia Morning, the dire shortage of EMT’s and paramedics across West Virginia is now trending in a positive direction. Randy Yohe spoke with Jody Ratliff, director of the State Office of Emergency Medical Services, on meeting the challenges facing those who come to our aid.
On this West Virginia Morning, the dire shortage of EMT’s and paramedics across West Virginia is now trending in a positive direction. But there is still much to be done to remedy what many call a first responder mental health crisis.
Randy Yohe spoke with Jody Ratliff, director of the State Office of Emergency Medical Services, on meeting the challenges facing those who come to our aid when we need help the most.
Also, in this show, we listen to the latest story from The Allegheny Front – a public radio program based in Pittsburgh that reports on environmental issues in the region. Their latest story looks at Monsanto and problems with the weedkiller Round Up.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.
Eric Douglas produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
A weedkiller called dicamba has caused a split in otherwise tight-knit farm communities. In Arkansas, where initially there had been tight restrictions over its use, some farmers successfully pushed to expand its use. Yet others claim that the weedkiller may be damaging the habitat of the “Natural State.”
There’s a weedkiller used across the country that’s created a new divide between farmers. In Arkansas, people who work the land are at odds over a herbicide called dicamba. In this episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay and reporter Loretta Williams follow up on a story that’s gotten ugly over the past couple years.
A newer version of the herbicide is designed to give soybean and cotton farmers a way during the growing season to combat pigweed, a tenacious plant that can take over fields. However, there’s evidence that the chemical can evaporate from where it was sprayed and move to harm other plants. It’s become so controversial that some farmers and backyard gardeners are afraid to complain about crop or plant damage.
On the other side of the debate, farmers who want to use the herbicide have gone to court and challenged who gets to make the rules about pesticide use in the state. Rural farm communities are typically tight-knit and if one farmer has a problem with another, they meet at what is called the “turn row” to talk things out.
But that’s not what’s happening in Arkansas. The atmosphere has gotten just plain un-neighborly.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council and the CRC Foundation.
Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.
Terry Fuller, former member of the Arkansas Plant Board, shows Us & Them host Trey Kay the place where several of his hay bales were set ablaze not long after he made public statements calling to limit the use of a special formulation of dicamba during the growing season. Fuller also says that two of his tractors were vandalized which caused more than $60,000 worth of damage.
Photo Credit: Loretta WilliamsTerry Fuller, former member of the Arkansas Plant Board, displays a couple of signs that have repeatedly been posted alongside the roads near his house. One sign could be seen from his daughter’s bedroom window on Christmas Day.
Photo Credit: Loretta WilliamsRichard Coy’s family has been in the honey producing business since the 1960s. Over the years, Coy’s Honey Farm became the largest commercial bee business in Arkansas. Coy claims dicamba has had an adverse effect on the plant life necessary for honey bees to thrive and produce honey. He says the conditions got so bad that he and his family had to move their business outside of Arkansas and into Mississippi.
Photo Credit: Loretta WilliamsFranklin Fogelman, a soybean farmer in Arkansas, speaking at a special session of the Arkansas Plant Board in 2019. He believes farmers like him need to be able to use dicamba during the growing season to control weeds in their fields.
Photo Credit: Loretta WilliamsReed Storey, a soybean and cotton farmer, opposes the use of the newer formulations of dicamba during the growing season because he believes the herbicide can harm the crops of neighboring farmers. He sees this as “big agriculture against smaller growers.”
Photo Credit: Loretta WilliamsCharles “Bo” Sloan is the manager of the Dale Bumpers White River Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas. He says he’s learned that dicamba can “get up and walk.” By this he means that the weed killer has a tendency to volatilize when the weather gets above 85 degrees. When dicamba volatilizes, the chemical transforms from a liquid to a gas and can move to other locations in ways that are difficult, if not impossible, to track. Sloan has heard the complaints that dicamba might adversely impact agriculture, and is also worried that it might be harming the environment in some of the nation’s protected lands.
Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
America’s trade war with China is fueling a long-running battle over weedkillers in American farm fields. It’s a tough time to be an American farmer — especially if you grow soybean. They are a $40 billion business in the U.S., but the price of soybeans plummeted last year because of the trade war. Soybean farmers are desperate to restore their profits and one way to do that is to boost their harvest.
Weeds can get in the way of that goal. For years, farmers have been able to keep weeds at bay with products like Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup, but now, some weeds are resistant to the chemical. Monsanto and other chemical companies have another effective weedkiller that relies on an herbicide called “dicamba.” But there’s a problem: besides killing weeds, dicamba can harm other sensitive plants. In fact, in 2017, the drifting chemical damaged some three and half million acres of valuable crops.
There are petitions and lawsuits in the works. One farmer died in a fight over the weedkiller. It’s forcing farmers to ask: where’s the line between doing what’s good for my business and doing what’s good for my neighbors?
In this episode, host Trey Kay and his colleague Loretta Williams travel to Arkansas to report on a simmering battle — more like a civil war — that pits farmer against farmer.
The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear an appeal of Monsanto Co.’s massive settlement with thousands of West Virginia residents.
In an order Monday, justices said they would not review the $93 million settlement reached in the lawsuit. The Charleston Gazette said that means thousands of Nitro-area residents are closer to receiving medical monitoring and having their property cleaned up.
In November, the West Virginia Supreme Court affirmed a January 2013 ruling approving the class-action settlement. The lawsuit alleged that the Nitro community was contaminated with dioxin from the former Monsanto chemical plant.
The plaintiffs said Monsanto polluted their community by burning waste from production of the defoliant Agent Orange.
Under the settlement, thousands of Nitro-area residents will be eligible for the medical monitoring and property cleanups.
The state Supreme Court has upheld a judge’s approval of Monsanto Co.’s massive settlement with thousands of West Virginia residents.
In a 4-1 decision Friday, the court affirmed a January ruling approving the class-action settlement of a lawsuit alleging that the Nitro community was contaminated with dioxin from the former Monsanto chemical plant. The plaintiffs said Monsanto polluted their community by burning waste from production of the defoliant Agent Orange.
Under the $93 million settlement, thousands of Nitro-area residents will be eligible for medical monitoring and property cleanups.
The Charleston Gazette reports that the court’s majority said it found “no substantial question of law and no prejudicial error” in various appeals of the settlement order.
