Errant Crop Dusting in Illinois Sends 70 Teenagers to the Hospital
by
Mark Ganchiff
·
July 26, 2013
Midwest Wine Press has received many reports of herbicide misapplication recently from all over the region. Today’s mishap near Springfield, Illinois is an example of the careless way agricultural chemicals are often being applied.
Enforcement of herbicide regulations is scattershot and establishing liability can be a legal nightmare for grape growers. Midwest Wine Press is currently determining how we can lend our voice to the growing outcry for tougher rules to protect grape and fruit growers.
Would you be interested in participating in a larger effort to pass, and enforce, tougher herbicide regulations?
Here’s the story from the Springfield Journal Register about the crop duster spraying the kids today: http://www.sj-r.com/breaking/x946756610/Dozens-of-workers-sprayed-by-cropduster-in-eastern-Illinois-corn-field
Tags: Herbicide damage grapes
Mark Ganchiff
Mark Ganchiff is the publisher of Midwest Wine Press, the leading source of news on the growing wine industry in the central United States. Mark has been a wine judge at the 2012 and 2014 INDY International Wine Competition, the 2014 Cold Climate Wine Competition, the 2013 Mid-American Wine Competition, the 2012 Illinois State Fair Wine Competition and the 2013 Michigan Wine Competition. He also enjoys speaking at wine events including the Cold Climate Wine Conference, the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association Annual Meeting, the Midwest Grape and Wine Conference and the Wisconsin Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Mark's articles about regional wine have appeared in Vineyard & Winery Management, WineMaker and several regional magazines.
Mark is a Level One Sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers. He lives in Louisville, but also has a residence in Chicago.
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Mark: I am willing to help as we discussed when you visited our vineyard. It appears that the 2012 damage is in excess of 700,000 dollars.
Sorry to hear about your deceased grapes. I’ve been corresponding with a national organization in Texas called Farm and Freedom Ranch Alliance. The executive director of FFRA said they are considering a national effort regarding herbicide drift. This might take the form of a petition drive. Progress on this important issue will be best served by a coordinated, organized effort.