Farmers Fight Chemical Ban

Officials are putting up a fight to allow farmers to use a chemical they've been spraying for yea...  More »

Officials are putting up a fight to allow farmers to use a chemical they've been spraying for years. The North Dakota Grain Growers, along with the state Department of Agriculture. and North Dakota State University are making sure wheat and barley growers will be able to use Folicur this spraying season. EPA recently announced to 14 wheat producing states in December that they wouldn't be allowing farmers to use the chemical... even though they've been spraying for the past 11 years. Dan Wogsland with the North Dakota Grain Growers says folicur is a key player in fighting scab and other leaf diseases. He says when combined with chemicals like Proline producers can see up to an 11 bushel yield increase per acre. (Dan Wogsland / NDGGA Exec. Director) YOU WOULD NEVER THINK AFTER 11 YEARS THAT FOLICUR WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE. IT WASN'T GOING TO BE. THERE WAS A 95 PERCENT CHANCE WE WERE TOLD IN DECEMBER THAT FOLICUR, WHICH IS THE MOST COST EEFECTIVE, ONE OF THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE SCAB FIGHTERS IN NORTH DAKOTA, WAS NOT GOING TO BE AVAIABLE FOR NORTH DAKOTA USE IN 2008, WOULD NOT BE THERE. EPA has now given Folicur a full section 3 label...making it available for the 2008 growing season.  « Less