Pesticide use and subsequent damage to neighboring crops is an ongoing problem for producers across the country this year. For example, farmers in Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois have sued biotech companies specifically over dicamba damage. (The dicamba herbicide is used to control weeds in genetically modified cotton and soybeans). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently intervened and reached an agreement with Monsanto, BASF and DuPont on measures to minimize drift damage to crops from dicamba.

In California, environmentalists and farmworkers want regulators to ban chlorpyrifos, claiming the insecticide is damaging to human health. Additionally, the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit against the EPA earlier this month seeking to cancel registrations of products containing neonic pesticides the group claims are harmful to bees and other pollinators.

Addressing some of these issues and others, the Agriculture and Food Law Consortium will present a free webinar on Wednesday, November 1, at 12 noon (ET), “From Farm Fields to the Courthouse: Legal Issues Surrounding Pesticide Use.” From regulatory issues to neighbor versus neighbor complaints, to state bans on application of certain products, there are numerous legal issues surrounding the regulatory approval process, application of products, and litigation when harm does occur. Speakers Rusty Rumley and Tiffany Dowell Lashmet will examine many of the legal issues, from approval to use, currently facing producers and landowners across the country. Congressional staffers, attorneys, students, and ag professionals seeking additional understanding of legal issues involving pesticides will want to attend this presentation.

Details on this upcoming webinar, including sign-in information, are available here.