EPA subpoenaed over the Dicamba Drift

A new federal court case that starts today will have major implications in US agriculture.  The National Family Farm Coalition has filed a class-action suit against the US Environmental Protection Agency and against Monsanto at the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California.

The issue is in regards to acres of fruit and vegetables have been ravaged by what is known in farming circles as the “Dicamba Drift.”  Dicamba is a herbicide that is manufactured by Monsanto.  The problem with dicamba is that the weed killer vaporizes at a low-degree point.  When the temperature reaches 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius), the dicamba changes from a liquid to a gas and drifts to other fields damaging acres of farmland.

Despite thousands of farmers sending complaints to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) back in 2018, the EPA extended the legal use of dicamba until the end of 2020 while disregarding scientific data and the amount of damage done to farmland throughout the country.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this court case will proceed virtually.  At a time where millions of Americans are waiting in line every day at food banks, tons of food no longer needs to be destroyed by dicamba.