Farmer at center of dicamba federal lawsuit testifies

The owner of a Dunklin County peach farm took the stand Tuesday in his federal lawsuit against two of the world’s largest chemical companies.

The case of Bill Bader and Bader Farms Inc., the largest peach farm in Missouri, versus Monsanto Co. and BASF Corp. is in its second week inside the Rush H. Limbaugh Federal Courthouse in Cape Girardeau.

The central question is whether improper use of dicamba-based herbicides in the vicinity of Bader’s peach orchards in 2015 and 2016 caused irreversible damage to Bader’s crops as a result of herbicide “drift.”

The jury trial began Jan. 27 before U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. and is expected to last at least another week.

Up until now, much of the testimony has come from Monsanto and BASF representatives who have been questioned about the development of dicamba herbicides and dicamba-tolerant seed systems.

Both companies maintain there is no possibility Bader’s peach orchards near Campbell, Missouri, could have been affected by airborne weed killer from adjoining farms.

In his lawsuit against the chemical companies, Bader also alleges they released dicamba-related products in 2015 and 2016 knowing they would harm other crops. According to his attorneys, the economic losses Bader Farms has suffered due to dicamba contamination comes to $20.9 million.

Bader, who co-owns Bader Farms along with his wife, Denise, began his testimony late Tuesday afternoon. Responding to questions from his attorney, Bev Randles, Bader told the jury about his career as a peach farmer starting in 1970 at age 13 on a peach farm north of Campbell.

“In 1975, I was a senior in high school and had enough credits to graduate so I pretty much went to work in the orchards,” he said and estimated he was working as much as 40 hours a week spraying, pruning, picking and packing peaches.

By the early 1980s, Bader was a partner in a peach orchard operation and in 1988 he and his wife created Bader Farms.

At its peak around 2006, Bader Farms had close to 1,100 acres in production and was selling peaches to wholesale food distributors in eight states. Today, Bader said, the orchards cover about 750 acres, 200 of which are characterized as “non-production” acres.

Randles questioned Bader about his overall farming practices and about peach yields on his orchard. He said for a “young” tree, 3 or 4 years old, he typically expects yields of 300 to 400 peaches, while for more “mature” trees, yields are normally in the 500 to 600 range.

As for the size of peaches, Bader described them as ranging from “golf balls” to “baseballs” to “softballs.” Asked by his attorney what size his normally are, Bader said “most of the time, it’s been baseballs and softballs, but in recent years its been tough.”

Randles asked Bader whether he had ever used dicamba on his farm to manage weeds in his orchards. “No, ma’am,” he replied.

She also questioned Bader about his tree-disease and insect-control practices. Bader said he has always been able to control insects, weeds and funguses in his orchards “until 2015.”

Bader’s testimony, including cross-examination by Monsanto and BASF attorneys, will continue today.

Do you crave business news? Check out B Magazine, and the B Magazine email newsletter. Check it out at www.semissourian.com/newsletters to find out more.