posted 12 years ago
Spoke with the farmer and his son last night on my way home.
They were already aware of the issue (apparently I am not the only one that is having problems). They were spraying 2,4-D. Some of my neighbors are experiencing issues all the way to the tops of tall trees, and they think that a heavy fog we had the morning after they applied may have lifted and moved the chemicals. I still think that the wind during application was the issue, due to the patterns of damage we're seeing on the property.
He apologized profusely, and offered to compensate for anything that dies. They are calling out the Dept. of Agriculture to do testing and determine what happened. Most importantly, their attitude about this is right where it should be. In the meantime, in conversations with the Dept. of Agriculture, I have learned what my rights are (more than I thought, actually)... and I've got the numbers and names to call if we have problems again.
In the meantime, I am still very interested in planting some sort of protective windbreak to hedge my bets (no pun intended) in case something like this does happen again.
Investigating potential uses of conifers and bamboo to make a windbreak, as these appear to be the most resistant to 2,4-D and broadleaf herbicides in general.