Like most problems at this scale, this is a complex issue with many causes. First off, Dicamba is not a new herbicide. We've had it for many years and knew the

Like most problems at this scale, this is a complex issue with many causes. First off, Dicamba is not a new herbicide. We've had it for many years and knew the challenges associated with it. Most farms didn't need to use it because glyphosate (aka Roundup) was just as effective and far easier to use thanks to Monsanto developing the compatible GMO seed over 20 years ago. Since then, two things have changed: roundup is off patent (so Monsanto's profits are being challenged) and many common weeds have developed their own resistance to the glyphosate mode of action. This leads Monsanto searching for a new product they can sell, and farmers searching for a more effective herbicide they can use. Pressure from both sides. Monsanto and the other chemical companies have a powerful lobby. They told the EPA that this new formulation of Dicamba was less prone to drift and somehow got that through without much field testing. The drift issue is a great thing for the chemical/seed companies if they can keep the product approved for use. Here is why: everyone will have to buy their GMO seed. Not even because they want to use the Dicamba product, but because the need the resistant seed as insurance against damage from their neighbor. There is a LOT of profit on the line for Monsanto and Dow/Dupont and unfortunately they have the ears of the regulators and they have great influence over the "independent" farmer lobby (American Farm Bureau). I'd like to propose that consolidation of farms is not driving this issue, but rather consolidation of seed and chemical companies. We have a massive oligopoly in the seed and chemical industry and it is only getting worse as the "Big 6" are becoming the Big 3 through M&A (Bayer/Monsanto, Dow/Dupont, Syngenta/ChemChina). About me: My family has been farming for 6 generations, my dad, uncle, and brother all actively farm and I am the founder of FarmLogs (YCW12).