ST. LOUIS — A group of nearly 60 Texas vineyards filed suit Friday against agribusiness companies Bayer and BASF, alleging that their controversial weedkiller dicamba, used heavily in the state's vast cotton fields, has damaged thousands of acres of wine grapes.
The case from 57 growers near Lubbock is believed to be the first dicamba suit from the U.S. wine industry. It says that 95% of productive grape vines have sustained damage across dozens of vineyards there, with the worst occurring in the last three years, as more and more local cotton growers used the herbicide.
Combined with other newly filed cases — including a separate suit from a beekeeper who was formerly Arkansas' biggest honey producer — the legal action reflects the expanding and diversifying web of litigation ensnaring the chemical and the companies behind it. And while Bayer agreed last summer to pay $400 million to settle dicamba suits, the agreement only applies to soybean damage reported by last year.
