* We’ve talked about the alleged damage caused to other crops from Monsanto’s new generation of soybean, which can tolerate exposure to its dicamba herbicide. The controversy is growing. From American Soybean Association President Ron Moore…

As nationwide reports of dicamba-related damage to soybeans and other crops continue to climb, the American Soybean Association reiterates its commitment to find a solution to the issue.

This issue isn’t going away — in fact, it’s only getting worse. There are now a reported 2,242 complaints affecting 3.1 million acres of soybeans in 21 of our 30 soybean-growing states, and we expect that number to continue to rise.

* WSIL TV…

Lawsuits against Monsanto continue to pile up pushing state agriculture boards to look into new regulations for next year that include cut off dates for application and strict times during the day for spraying.

Among the dozens of lawsuits against Monsanto, a large class action suit involving farmers from ten states including Illinois.

* Reuters…

New versions of the herbicide dicamba developed by Monsanto and BASF, according to farmers, have drifted across fields to crops unable to withstand it, a charge authorities are investigating.

As the crisis intensifies, new details provided to Reuters by independent researchers and regulators, and previously unreported testimony by a company employee, demonstrate the unusual way Monsanto introduced its product. The approach, in which Monsanto prevented key independent testing of its product, went unchallenged by the Environmental Protection Agency and nearly every state regulator. […]

In this case, Monsanto denied requests by university researchers to study its XtendiMax with VaporGrip for volatility — a measure of its tendency to vaporize and drift across fields.

The researchers interviewed by Reuters — Jason Norsworthy at the University of Arkansas, Kevin Bradley at the University of Missouri and Aaron Hager at the University of Illinois — said Monsanto provided samples of XtendiMax before it was approved by the EPA. However, the samples came with contracts that explicitly forbade volatility testing. [Emphasis added.]

* From AgriNews…

Because dicamba is considered a broadleaf-specific herbicide, damage can occur to soybeans, vegetables, fruit shrubs, orchards and trees.

* Tree damage appears to be happening in Illinois…

In Illinois, retired biologist Lou Nelms who operated a prairie seed nursey and was a researcher at the University of Illinois, has documented damage to oak trees across the state from dicamba and filed numerous complaints with Illinois Department of Agriculture and Department of Natural Resources. […]

But, in the cases of oak tree damage, internal Monsanto emails indicate that the company has tried to shift blame away from dicamba to other pesticides.

The emails were written by company lobbyists who shared them with the Illinois agriculture department. The emails were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Nelms filed more complaints in August about damage at the Sandra Miller Bellrose Nature Preserve, an area officially recognized by the Illinois Natural Preserve Commission, and at the 412.7 acre Revis Hill Prairie, an official state natural area.

The Monsanto correspondence followed Nelms filing complaints with the department.

Nelms filed one of his complaints, on the morning of August 16, with the Department of Natural Resources about dicamba damage to oak trees at the state nature preserve Funk’s Grove.

Funk’s Grove, about 10 miles south of Bloomington, Illinois, is one of just 654 undisturbed natural areas in the state of Illinois. The 25-acre forest is famed for its sugar maples and the syrup they produce. The nature preserve, a popular destination along the famed Route 66, is also home to oak trees hundreds of years old.

But this year, the leaves on the historic oak trees “cupped” and died, exhibiting clear signs of harm from either 2,4-D or dicamba, which is the most widely used weed killer of this type, Nelms said.

Just one hour later after Nelms’ August 16 complaint, Jeff Williams, a Monsanto lobbyist based in Springfield, Illinois, sent an email to Dave Tierney, the regional director governmental affairs in Des Moines, Iowa.

In the email, Williams wrote he had talked with Warren Goetsch, deputy director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture, and Wayne Rosenthal, the director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources the night before.

Go read the rest.

* Related…

* Herbicide damage hurts more than crops

* Despite Problems, Monsanto Exec Says Dicamba Use Will Only Grow