Cityview – central
By Sean J. Miller
Drifting into ruin
Herbicide applicators are damaging more and more
neighboring fields
Sean Skeehan and Jill Beebout, who own Blue Gate Farm
near
“The second incident, the sprayer went by and it was a very
windy day and my immediate thought was ‘my bees,’” Skeehan recalls. In addition
to 13 types of tomatoes and a medley of vegetables, the 20-acre farm — located
about an hour southwest of
“At the time, I wasn’t sure what those particular chemicals
would do,” he says. When his tomatoes, squash and zucchini crops sprouted, they
grew into gross configurations. The couple took the produce to be tested and
learned it had been hit with two chemicals, 2,4-D and Roundup, which are
normally used to control weeds in corn and soybean fields, Skeehan says. Then
it happened a third time in June.
Their high tunnel, or greenhouse, was hit with a herbicide called Ultra Blazer, Beebout says. “Two days
after he sprayed, you could see the spray pattern coming off the field and into
the tunnel.”
Cases of drift in
The three incidents of drift damaged close to 50 percent of Blue
Gate Farm’s crop, which is Certified Naturally Grown — a certification
available to small producers, which adherents say requires the same stringent
standards as the USDA Organic certification without the paperwork or costs
associated with the program.
Beebout, 37, says that the damaged crops aren’t covered by
insurance, and the best chance for recouping some of their losses is through
legal action against the applicators. If they aren’t able to claim restitution,
“it would be a significant blow,” she says, potentially putting their
three-year-old farm out of business. Beebout and Skeehan destroyed all the
exposed vegetables and blossoms. “We cannot legally sell the produce,” she
says.
The produce that grows for the remainder of the season on the
affected fields will still be offered to the 25 subscribers of the farm’s
community supported agriculture (CSA) program. The program gives members, who
pay a fee for the summer, a box of vegetables each week. However, the couple
won’t sell the produce from those fields at the Des Moines Farmer’s Market,
where it usually sells 65 percent of its crops. Blue Gate can’t make the claim
of Certified Naturally Grown on the produce that comes from the affected fields
for three years, Skeehan says. “We’re now considered transitional, which means
you can use the fields, but we can’t claim Certified Naturally Grown,
chemical-free.”
The Department of Agriculture is currently investigating Blue Gate’s claim,
says Chuck Eckermann, the department’s chief pesticide investigator. It will be
difficult to resolve the case because two of the applicators applied the same
chemicals. “If they’re applying the same product, then you can only point
fingers. We would not be able to prove who was responsible.” If they do prove
that one or all three applicators were guilty of drift, each applicator could
face a fine of up to $500, Eckermann says, adding in 70 percent of the cases a
party is determined to be at fault. If the department does find the applicators
at fault, it could also open the door to legal action by Blue Gate.
Farming experts say the best way to avoid drift is to communicate with neighboring farmers. Beebout says they knew their neighbors, but the applicators responsible for the drift were outside contractors. Organic farmers should “talk to their neighbors, make sure you’re as visible as possible,” she says. CV
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