LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- An Arkansas farmer says he suspects retaliation for speaking out against use of the herbicide dicamba.

Dicamba is used to kill weeds in soybean fields, but when applied in summer heat and humidity, the chemical can drift and damage other crops and plants. It's estimated 3 million acres of cropland nationwide were damaged from pesticide drift in 2017, a year that saw more than 1,000 dicamba complaints in Arkansas. This year, the Arkansas State Plant Board placed a May 25 cut-off date on use of the herbicide.

Board chairman Terry Fuller, a soybean and corn farmer, said that when he testified at the Legislature about farmers illegally spraying past the deadline, two tractors on his property were vandalized.

"That was Aug. 17, that night, after I testified at Little Rock to the Joint Ag legislative committee, senators and representatives. And then Sept. 17, I presented again," he said. "Before I got out of town, the town of Little Rock, they were sending me a picture of 367 bales of hay on fire."

He said the damage totals $80,000. One study found dicamba can be detected in the air as many as three days after crops are sprayed. This summer, a Ninth Circuit Court judge ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency, requiring the agency to place restrictions on its use and ban sales.

Under state law, farmers illegally spraying dicamba can be fined $25,000 for each violation. Fuller said he's unfazed by the intimidation tactics, but is concerned that some farmers apparently aren't concerned about their neighbors.

"I'm wondering where our moral compass in this country has gone," he said. "How you can think it's right to spray something and you don't know which way it's going to go, days after you apply it. That's what the research scientists have said about this product from the beginning."

Until now, said Jason Keith Norsworthy, a distinguished professor of soil, crop and environmental science in the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, soybean farmers have had few alternatives to get rid of invasive species such as pigweed.

"Now, in soybeans, dicamba was really the only herbicide that could be used. Because of herbicide-resistant weeds that we have in the field, there really was no option for those growers that chose to plant dicamba soybeans," he said. "But today, there are several technologies that are out there."

Bayer, a company that has created genetically modified varieties of soybeans and cotton designed to tolerate dicamba, is expected to ask the EPA to put the herbicide back on the market for the 2021 growing season.

The study is online at ipm.missouri.edu, the text of the lawsuit is at usrtk.org, and the Arkansas Plant Board rule is at agriculture.arkansas.gov.


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For the second time in nearly a decade, North Dakota is considering changes to a longstanding law that blocks corporate ownership of farms. With lawmakers now hearing debate, both sides of the issue are laying out arguments. Governor Doug Burgum's administration is behind the proposed changes, arguing the state isn't competitive in livestock production. The bill would add ownership exemptions for certain feedlot operations.

Mark Watne, president of the North Dakota Farmers Union, said not only would it deplete the number of independent producers around the state, but also push profits to out-of-state companies. He added there should instead be focus on solutions within North Dakota's state lines.

"What we need to do is build processing plants, we need to find markets, we need to shore up the supply chain where our farmers and ranchers can make a little bit more money - and then we will grow animals in the state," Watne said. It really comes down to economics."

Opponents also contend farmers can build up ownership by forming cooperatives. A key change in the proposal involves removing swine, dairy, poultry and cattle feeding from the definition of a farm or ranch. Opening a window for corporations to partner with farmers can reverse North Dakota's decline in livestock production and complement its other agricultural output, Burgum's staff has contended.

Watne said the approach sought by the governor and other state leaders has had devastating effects in other states, pointing to a major loss of independent farmers in Oklahoma. He said corporate ownership of agricultural land is bad business for smaller producers.

"So, if you've got somebody rooting chickens or hogs today," Watne said, "they're not going to have a really good place to market unless they sign in with these folks and then they're at the mercy of whatever they come up with for contracts."

He and other opponents noted North Dakota voters overwhelmingly overturned similar changes approved in 2015. Other supporters of the bill include the North Dakota Corn Growers Association, which has said the changes would provide more market opportunities for its members for livestock feed. The plan would still maintain strong restrictions on corporate ownership, the group has also argued. The bill's language sets a limit of 160 acres.

The upcoming reauthorization of the Farm Bill should be developed from community needs, not corporate interests, Advocacy groups in North Carolina said. The final Farm Bill will shape what happens in agriculture for the next five years.

Margaret Krome-Lukens, Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA Policy Director, explained the legislation impacts student farming, farmers' access to credit, crop insurance, commodity programs and more. She said decades of food consolidation have placed resources in the hands of a few major corporations, and believes lawmakers should consider community and small farmer voices as they work on the next farm bill.

"Farmers and local communities should be the ones making the decisions about what kind of a food system they want, and not corporations that are coming in and dictating what kind of terms a farmer can get on a contract, or how they're allowed to use the seeds," Krome-Lukens said.

Fewer farmers are using contracts compared with 25 years ago, according to data from the USDA. In 2020, 5% of U.S. farms used marketing contracts, compared with 11% in 1996.

Krome-Lukens pointed out that regardless of operation size, farming is not an easy profession, and added many pieces of the infrastructure of our local and regional food systems have been hollowed out, shrinking options for meat processing or wholesale markets. She said that the upcoming Farm Bill is a chance to rebuild and strengthen local and regional food infrastructure.

"Small-scale farmers and beginning farmers can be at a real disadvantage when it comes to accessing federal resources or farmers who are doing something a little bit different in terms of production or niche marketing or innovative practices," she said.

The nation's small family farm operations held an average of $90,000 dollars in debt, according to 2019 federal data.

Next week, Ohio farmers and their advocates head to Washington, D.C., to push for shifting federal programs toward growing nutritious food, as lawmakers gear up to reauthorize the Farm Bill.

The cost of groceries has increased by 13% over the past year, driven largely by global supply-chain issues and the war in Ukraine.

Angela Huffman, co-founder and vice president of Farm Action, said she believes a strong system of local food suppliers would stabilize Ohio's food economy, and help ensure more families have access to fruits, vegetables, and sustainably raised meat.

"The Farm Bill matters to everybody, because everybody eats," Huffman asserted. "A large part of the reason that we're seeing this skyrocketing inflation -- and frankly, price gouging -- is because a small number of really large corporations are controlling our food system and our government policies."

According to an Urban Institute report, around one in five adults nationwide reported food insecurity in their households in 2020 and again last summer, when historic inflation levels sent food prices soaring.

Huffman added the federal government currently purchases food from major industrial producers. She is hoping the new Farm Bill shifts some buying power to local farmers for schools, hospitals and other community institutions.

"We want to be focused on empowering farmers to do what they do and feed their neighbors, and not just feeding corporate-controlled livestock around the world," Huffman emphasized.

Huffman added farmers are struggling to stay afloat in an era of falling commodity prices and the globalization of agriculture.

"The bulk of the money is going towards feed grains for livestock, which is corn, soybeans, other grains," Huffman outlined. "Farmers are really locked in this system, because that's where the lifeline subsidies are directed towards, and their margins are so slim."

Federal data show in 2019, the nation's small family farm operations held an average of $90,000 in debt.