Grape growers on the South Plains are suing Bayer-Monsanto and BASF for damages to vineyards, which the grape growers say is caused by the cotton herbicide sold by Bayer-Monsanto and BASF.
The lawsuit claims that since Bayer-Monsanto and BASF began selling their dicamba-based genetically modified seed system to cotton growers in 2015 and 2016, the drifting dicamba herbicide has damaged nearby productive grapevines across the area. The lawsuit says some family-owned vineyards report losses of more than 90%.
"The cloud of dicamba that now covers the High Plains each summer has crippled what was an award-winning and rapidly growing industry," the lawsuit says. "The vineyards have seen their production fall dramatically, and what grapes do grow are often rejected for poor quality.
"Contracts have been canceled," it continues, "winemakers have had to seek grapes elsewhere, and a stigma has attached to the region. The overall value of these vineyards has been significantly impaired both now and in the future."
Attorneys representing the grape growers say cotton seed systems created by Bayer-Monsanto and BASF feature the highly volatile herbicide called dicamba to kill weeds, and the herbicide is drifting to nearby vineyards, and crippling the nonresistant grapes.
The lawsuit says the existence of many High Plains vineyards is under threat because of the dicamba herbicide being sprayed on more than two-thirds of the 3 million acres of cotton in the Texas High Plains.
The lawsuit says the cotton herbicide can drift to nearby vineyards in different ways. It says the most destructive is when the dicamba herbicide evaporates and moves in the air as a gas — it can move for many miles, according to the lawsuit. It can also physically drift due to wind, or drift during a temperature inversion when it becomes suspended in a mass of cool air that hangs above the soil line, according to the lawsuit.
"Once sprayed, volatilized or drifting dicamba can travel for many miles before falling on plants," the lawsuit says. "When damaged by dicamba in even one season, a vineyard can take years to recover (if at all)."
The lawsuit claims that dicamba, the relatively new herbicide used by many cotton growers, is more than 300,000 times more volatile than glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup.
In response to the lawsuit, Bayer released the following statement:
“We have great sympathy for any grower who suffers a crop loss, but there are many possible reasons why crop losses might occur including extreme winter weather conditions that can have particularly devastating effects on perennial crops like vineyards. While Bayer has not been served with the Texas lawsuit, we stand strongly behind the safety and utility of our XtendiMax [a dicamba-based herbicide] herbicide and will continue to defend this technology.The EPA has comprehensively evaluated XtendiMax and determined it does not pose any unreasonable risks of off-target movement when used according to label directions.”
Ted Liggett of the Liggett Law Group in Lubbock and Adam Dinnell of the Houston law firm Schiffer Hicks Johnson, both attorneys representing the grape growers, say Monsanto knew as early as 2009, years before the seed system was released, that dicamba was highly volatile and that it would have far reaching impacts on other crops.
Attorneys also say Monsanto and BASF knew that drift and volatilization would occur even if the cotton growers applying dicamba did exactly as they were supposed to do.
Cliff Bingham of Bingham Family Vineyards in Meadow, and a plaintiff in the case, says his annual grape production has decreased from 800 tons to under 100 tons last year.
Fifty-seven wine grape growers representing about 3,000 acres of vines are part of the lawsuit, saying they've suffered $114 million in economic damages.
The lawsuit filed in Jefferson County on Friday, June 4, seeks to recover the $114 million in damages, plus $228 million in punitive damages from Bayer-Monsanto and $228 million in punitive damages from BASF based on the companies knowing the damages it could cause, the lawsuit states.
More than 85% of all the wine grapes grown in Texas are grown within one hour of Lubbock, and the grapes are produced, sold or used by the state's $13.1 billion wine industry.
“Many of these vineyards have taken 20 to 30 years to cultivate in an area where only cotton was grown," Liggett said. "They gave new purpose to the land, delivered a far more lucrative crop and created an industry that’s recognized for its excellence around the world. Now all that grit, hard work and community pride is at risk of being lost."
The Link LonkJune 08, 2021 at 06:47AM
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Area grape growers file lawsuit against Bayer-Monsanto and BASF over herbicide damage - LubbockOnline.com
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