Farm Wars

It’s a tough time to be a soybean farmer in the U.S.  Soybeans are a $40 billion business in America, but crop prices plummeted last year because of  the trade war between the U.S. and China. That has many farmers taking steps to boost their crop yields and effective weed prevention is one approach.   For years, farmers kept even the stubborn “pigweed” at bay with herbicides like Monsanto’s Round-up. But over time, weeds become resistant to the chemical. Monsanto and other companies have  another product that relies on a chemical called “dicamba,” which effectively keeps the weeds at bay. But, there’s a problem: dicamba can evaporate and drift from where its sprayed and harm other sensitive plants. In  2017, the drifting chemical damaged some three and half million acres of valuable crops. In this episode, Trey Kay and Loretta Williams travel to Arkansas to report on a simmering battle -- more like a civil war -- that pits farmer against farmer and forces them to consider the line between doing what’s good for their business and doing what’s good for their neighbor.