April 9, 2020
‘The Deal with Dicamba’: Dicamba-related litigation to be discussed in April 15 webinar
By Sarah Cato
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast facts:
- National Agricultural Law Center webinar to cover dicamba lawsuits
- Webinar is April 15 at noon to 1 p.m. EST
- Register online at: https://bit.ly/3e2LvGX
(280 words with art at https://flic.kr/p/2iNvvRL)
(Download this story in MS Word format here.)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A Missouri peach farmer was recently awarded $265 million after a jury found that his orchard was damaged by dicamba-based pesticides. Hundreds of similar lawsuits have been filed, and their rulings could have far-reaching effects on the herbicide’s use in the United States.
The lawsuits filed in the federal courts were consolidated into one case featuring two major claims.
"The plaintiffs’ allegations were divided into two categories, claims that had to do with crop damage allegedly caused by dicamba, and claims that one of the companies had allegedly created a monopoly of the pesticide-resistant crop market,” said Brigit Rollins, Staff Attorney from the National Agricultural Law Center.
Although dicamba is not a new tool in the fight against weeds, the latest round of dicamba formulations was released to be used in cotton and soybean crops developed specifically to resist its damaging effects. The lawsuits claim that the formulations do not remain where they are applied and move into other, non-resistant crops, causing damage.
“How these lawsuits play out could have a significant impact on how pesticides and pesticide-resistant, genetically engineered crops are used in agriculture,” Rollins said.
Rollins will discuss these lawsuits, the claims being made by both the plaintiffs and the defense, and what the outcome of each suit could mean for dicamba use in the U.S. in a free webinar, hosted by the National Agricultural Law Center April 15 at noon EDT/ 11 a.m. CDT.
Those interested in the upcoming webinar can register online at https://bit.ly/3e2LvGX.
For more information on dicamba-related litigation, visit Rollins’s “The Deal with Dicamba” blog series. Part one can be found at http://bit.ly/37ji4N5.
For more information on the National Agricultural Law Center, visit https://nationalaglawcenter.org/ or follow @Nataglaw on Twitter.
About the National Agricultural Law Center
The National Agricultural Law Center serves as the nation’s leading source of agricultural and food law research and information. The Center works with producers, state and federal policymakers, Congressional staffers, attorneys, land grant universities, and many others to provide objective, nonpartisan agricultural and food law research and information to the nation’s agricultural community.
The Center is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and works in close partnership with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Agricultural Library.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact 479-575-4607 as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
# # #
Media Contact:
Sarah Cato
U of A System Division of Agriculture
National Agricultural Law Center
870-815-9035
sscato@uark.edu