Legislature OKs bill raising fines for herbicide damage

Missouri lawmakers gave final approval to a bill increasing fines for illegal use of herbicides resulting in damage to other farmers’ crops, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

The Missouri House passed the bill Thursday in a vote of 139-18.

The bill, HB 662, already had passed the Senate. It now goes to Gov. Eric Greitens, and if he signs it, will go into effect immediately.

Chemical company Monsanto developed herbicides containing dicamba and dicamba-resistant seeds, the Southeast Missourian reported in January.

Dicamba is approved for use against woody and wide-leaf plants, and older formulations of dicamba herbicides were not approved for use in 2016.

Drift or overspray of herbicides containing dicamba caused significant damage to neighboring farms’ crops in Southeast Missouri in 2016, the Southeast Missourian reported in January 2017.

In December 2016, Missouri’s largest peach producer sued Monsanto for contributing to overspray conditions that caused substantial damage to their crop.

Sponsored by State Rep. Don Rone of Portageville, the bill seeks to increase fines for damage to neighboring crops. Fines for offending farmers could reach $10,000 for each instance of damage on a first offense and $25,000 for repeat offenders.

These fines would be issued by the Department of Agriculture and would be levied against people who damage other farmers’ crops, land or property by using herbicides in a manner not marked as the intended use.

The Associated Press reported supporters of the bill hope it will prevent the illegal spraying of herbicides such as when crops were damaged in southeast Missouri in 2015 and 2016.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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