Twice now in the last 3 years and 3 times in the last 6 years my tomatoes have been the victim of herbicide drift.
the last time it happened they survived but didn't produce like normal. This time they are toast.

I've reached out to the co op and asked them to be more careful all to no avail. Some of my plants were maybe 30 feet from the edge of the field and others were twice as far and still got drift. I live on a steep timbered hillside and the garden is the only place I can put it.

I have had no problems for 15 years and now it's a real issue. I don't think I'm out of line for expecting them to keep their product off my property. I have taken pictures and am going in to discuss this on a more serious note this time.

My tomatoes I raise from seed and are all special heirloom plants that I can't just go buy and replace.

Some coordination with the person that does the spraying may be an answer easier to accomplish than legal remedies. It might work if you wetting down your plant foliage immediately ahead of the spraying would be sufficient to prevent damage.

Chemical trespass, they can and should be held responsible.

You can file a report and the state will send someone to investigate.

Here is a link to get you started.

How to handle chemical drift complaints.

The applicator is responsible

Sounds like you have tried being nice
Time to take it up a notch and cost them some $$

Have you contacted your states AG department. They should be Abel to help you put a stop to it.

I've tried asking them to cooperate. 2 years ago I saw the sprayer go in to the field. I drove down to talk to the nurse truck driver.
The wind was blowing strong out of the east which is the wrong direction for me. I asked him to tell the sprayer operator to be careful around my garden. They didn't care and just kept on spraying and gave it a good dose.

I might add the I worked at a John Deere dealership in parts or over 30 years and understand how things work with the farmers and co ops.
I even told them that if they would shut off their outer boom when going by that I would take care of any weeds left in the field.

Its only an issue when the wind blows out of the east which was pretty much the norm for my area this spring.

All applicators are licensed through the state and complaints will be investigated and applicators fined if found liable.

Good info

it definitely needs to cost them something that is the only way they will change any behavior , you tried nice.

They will not stop until it gets into there pocket book and then things change.

Around here we have a lot of smaller fields than many places do and a very diverse crop rotation so there is more concern and care regarding spraying. There are wind speed restrictions with certain formulations. There is a lot of surfactants and anti drift materials in use. Also very common to have little to no chemical on the outside 4-6 rows. We have had coops or operators pay for crop damages, most of which are ag related however and not with gardens. We also have several small vinyards and orchards.

Bryce

The guy that rents the ground next to my place does his own spraying. He is very careful about it because he knows it's important to be a good neighbor. The co-ops don't care about stuff like that.

I worked at a Coop. Gardens are worth alot of $$.

We spray thousands of acres a year. As the person in charge. Ow and the guy that was in the sprayer seat for 20 year. I have always considered every house I’m spraying close to as my own. If I wouldn’t spray by my house I won’t spray by yours. They should compensate you and they can coordinate with you when they spray. There is no reason they can’t pick the right wind, give you a heads-up so you can get s a sprinkler going on the just in case the wind switches. It’s no different than trapping if you’re going to hurt the industry by putting a set in a spot that might catch a non-target don’t do it. If the wind is wrong or the conditions are perfect for an inversion don’t spray. I’d go and talk to them in a polite manner again.

a winery here got some pretty good money when there grapes got sprayed accidently by drift.

If they sprayed Dicamba the wind can be blowing away from your property and if conditions are right it will get up and move to your place after the wind dies down.

I work part time at a chemical fertilizer dealer, and farm, so I’ve seen just about everything and accidents do happen but this is pure ignorance at this point I’d call your state agency, here it’s IDALS, and file a complaint, here dicamba for beans was done on the 12th of June, where I work we stopped the 10th just to make sure, also get the claim in as soon as possible, and take pictures with the date in them, and make sure you have good documentation of the problem. Here in Iowa the person filing the complaint gets all benefits and it’s up to the applicator/company to prove you wrong.

Most likely dicamba damage. The problem with dicamba is even when the applicator follows every rule that is put in place, damage can still occur. Typical government regulations, they don't actually help protect the non ag sector, while at yhe same time making things really difficult for producers.

When environment condtions are just right, the plants that have been sprayed with dicamba can breath the chemical back out through transpiration. In the case with dicamba it is released as a vapor which can move for over a mile. This being said, it's possible the field close to your house may not be the source of the dicamba. So even though all guidelines are followed the way they are currently written, damage can still occur. This is why there are deadlines to spray dicamba. The rule writers are trying to get producers to apply it before the majority of vegetative grow occurs.

I had heard rumors of dicamba vaporizing and drifting bad. Thanks for that info.