Monsanto’s Roundup was very efficient at killing weeds. But several years ago, the weeds Roundup was supposed to kill were becoming resistant to Roundup. according to a complaint filed on behalf of 57 Texas wineries. So Monsanto developed a new chemical, dicamba, which not only killed weeds, but also any crop it touched that wasn’t resistant to dicamba because dicamba “was highly prone to volatizing into a gas and moving miles off target where it would damage whatever plants it came into contact with.”
This led Monsanto and BASF, which also produced dicamba, to see an opportunity to start an agricultural “protection racket,” according to the complaint filed in the Jefferson County, Tex., District Court. Monsanto and BASF were producing cotton seeds that were genetically modified to be dicamba resistant and, therefore, farmers would have to buy those seeds “or see their crops destroyed.”
“But cotton is not the only crop grown in the High Plains,” the 39-page complaint states. “Within and among the cotton fields are dozens of vineyards that produce roughly 85% of the grapes used to make wines in Texas. They are the core of the state’s $13 billion wine industry, the nation’s fifth largest. Grapes, however, are extremely sensitive to dicamba. And grapevines cannot be made dicamba-resistant.
“Dicamba damage on grapevines in the High Plains was unheard of prior to the
release of Monsanto and BASF’s dicamba-based seed system. Now it can be found
throughout every portion of every vineyard in the region.
The result has been that some High Plains growers “have seen grape production decrease by as much as 95% in recent years. Others have suffered widespread vine death, canceled
contracts, ruined buyer relationships, and a resulting stigma. Many young vineyards
have been stopped in their tracks before ever having a chance to make a crop. the complaint says.”
“As volatilizing or drifting dicamba comes in contact with a grapevine, the plant is harmed, reducing the plant’s overall health. Leaves deform, cup, and shrink—and soon the plant stops growing. And when vines get hit with dicamba many times a year, for multiple years, the results are disastrous—stunted development, significantly reduced yields, poor
quality grapes, and, eventually, vine death. Over the past few years, this is exactly
what has happened in the High Plains.,” the complaint says.
According to the complaint, the 57 wineries have suffered more than $114 million in economic damages. The wineries are seeking to recover the economic damages plus at least $228 million in punitive damages from Monsanto and from BASF. Altogether, they are seeking to recover at least $560 million at trial.
The complaint says 90% to 95% of grape vines in the Texas High Plains region have been damages.
“Even in the 1960s, dicamba’s dangers were well-known, and it was used
with caution,” the complaint says. “Its use was limited to applications that were before planting or after harvest in cooler temperatures. Dicamba was never used during the summer growing season or over-the-top of cotton or soybeans. This is because the chemical had a strong track record of turning into a gas and forming invisible clouds in the air that could then move. This is especially true when the weather is warm.”
How serious a threat is dicamba? According to the complaint, “as little as 10-16 drops of dicamba from an eyedropper is enough to damage an entire acre of grapes.”
Ouside experts warned to the danger dicamba posed to specialty crops such as grapevines as early as 2009. “Monsanto and BASF’s response was to reduce their testing to make sure they did not create data that would corroborate what outside experts were saying.
Monsanto and BASF responded by, as they described it, “pull[ing] back some of this
academic testing . . . to ensure that these formulations keep a ‘clean’ slate,” the complaint says. “They also refused to test the product under the type of real-world conditions found on the High Plains—high temperatures and strong winds.”
The complaint goes on to note that a vineyard, once planted, “can be expected to produce grapes for decades. . . . the vines are a 25-year investment that will continue to make money — provided the vines stay healthy. But when damaged by dicamba in even one season, a vineyard can take years to recover (if at all). When a vineyard is hit by volatilized or drifting dicamba in multiple years, the damage increases (and the recovery, if any, takes even longer). This is especially true for younger vines and vineyards that are still developing.”