AMARILLO, TEXAS -- More than 2,000 farmers and food companies nationwide have formed a coalition that is taking legal action against the government on the grounds that certain chemicals in herbicides should be better analyzed.
2,4-D and dicamba are two of the main herbicides in use, even here in the Panhandle. Over the past four years, more than $1 million have been filed in lawsuits and insurance claims by farmers in the Midwest who suffered crop losses due to these two chemicals drifting onto their farms.
According to Texas AgriLife Agronomist Brent Bean, 2,4-D and dicamba have been used for decades, and Roundup Ready crops (crops that are immune to the chemicals) have been grown in the Texas Panhandle since the 1990s.
"The potential problem that some people see is that if we have this tolerant cotton, we're going to have a lot more 2,4-D being used, or dicamba," Bean said. "That could lead to potential other problems. If you've got a lot more herbicide being used, it could drift over onto some other things, such as tomatoes."
Bean added these chemicals are found in many products people use on a regular basis.
"2,4-D and dicamba are used all over Amarillo in lawn products. You can go down to your Lowe's or your Home Depot or Coulter Gardens or wherever and products you're buying to put on your lawn have 2,4-D in them-most of them- 2,4-D or dicamba. So, these aren't new chemicals."
It seems the farming community is torn on this issue- farmers with biocrops are not losing their products. Farmers with other crops are.
