Agent Orange

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

A non-farmer pilot friend of mine sent this holiday cheer my way with a question as to whether it was real.

"America's farmlands to be carpet-bombed with Vietnam-era Agent Orange chemical if Dow petition approved Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!"

Here's the  article, which would be hilarious if it weren't so biased and one-sided.

"http://www.infowars.com/americas-farmlands-to-be-carpet-bombed-with-vietnam-era-agent-orange-chemica..." 

[k-289]

Have had some Vietnam vets--friends and relatives that have had a series of health issues for a couple of decades---""all ground troops "" ---interesting

[Nebrfarmr]

One of my best friends in the world died a few years ago, from complications arising from a birth defect (in his heart) that they attributed to his father having been exposed to Agent Orange when he served in Vietnam.  He left with one baby, and his wife pregnant with a second.  That stuff is NOT to be kidded about.

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

So, how do we address the issue that what this whacko group wants to do is label 2,4-D as Agent Orange when it is clearly not, and scare half the people to death?  I bet most of the grain farmers on this site use or have used 2,4-D.  Nearly every homeowner uses it to excess.  It is certainly is not Agent Orange any more than saltpeter by itself is gunpowder.  If this topic has you reacting in this negative way about what is not even a half-truth but an utter falsehood, what hope do we farmers have that the general public can tell the difference?  Goebbels had it right.  Tell the big lie.

[k-289]

As the platinum shows under my cap I regret being fed information that is  designed with only one side of the story---history will be the final chapter of this issue and I am not ""quick sold "" on any magic bullets---" convenient "  is one thing that has the pedal to the metal on quite a few products in the last couple of decades or should we call it " quick fix "---nitrogen is one that the " experts " can't explain how 110ppm + with chlorides at 69 got into the feedlot Mont. Wells across the road from me and my domestic well testing in the 30's and 40's which proves sand does not hold many nutrients---not much "rocket science" needed---" intensive anything " also brings unknown baggage ---  "collateral damage" can be an interesting topic---

[BA Deere]

I wouldn`t lose any sleep over this, sounds like a yr before 2,4-D beans and corn come out Mother Nature has went to work on getting around it.

http://farmindustrynews.com/herbicides/24-d-resistance-confirmed-nebraska-waterhemp-population  It seems like if you spray a herbicide 30 times weeds build tolerance and 2,4-D has been around a long time.  FWIW when I spray 2,4-D my joints ache.

[mnwheatie]

Its amazing that people are so quick to believe anything they see in print is the truth.  2,4-d is not the main ingredient in agent orange.  It is a chemical called 2,4-d 245t or something close to that.  I know this because I used this chemical to spray roadside brush for our township back in the early 70's.  To say that they are the same chemical is like saying round-up and ignite are the same because they are both labeled as non-selective herbicides.  I wish these wack-o liberal alarmist would do a little digging and educate themselves on the truth before making such sensationalistic statements....but if they did I suppose no one would pay them any attention, which is all they really want after all.

[hardnox604008]

If I recall correctly, 2,4,-D was reviewed by EPA a number of years ago on the basis os a couple of different potential hazards to human health- mild carcinogenicity shown by some studies being one of them.  The outcome was that the risks were acknowledged but thought to be less than the benefits because testimony indicated that it had significant value in enabling no-till as part of a burndown tankmix and there are substantila social benefits to that.

That is the unfortunate reality- nothing is without risks and it is a judgment call as to how great the risks are versus the benefit.

I'll shift gears a bit and consider Don Huber's claims about glyphosate overuse creating concerning shifts in soil organisms. You can search it, find your own discussions. Don Huber might be wrong but he's not a liberal or whatever, I was acquainted with him when he was a Purdue and he is a solid ag scientist.

I do trust EPA to rigorously test for what they test for- primarily biological impact on mammals, avians and insects both by the primary chemical and the metabolytes and degradates and any possible labeled combination of all of the aforementioned.

What they don't routinely test for are impacts completely outside of that sphere- and if you think about it it's almost certain there are some.

Disclaimer- I disliked Monsanto before they ever brouht on RR stuff because they were a jerky company to deal with and think it is a shame that they got to be the spearhead of the GMO revolution because other companies might have handled it better.

But I'll never for the life of me understand why RR corn was approved. RR beans were very nice to have- why mess with it when you know that Monsanto's short term greed will merely result in the end of efficacy for glyphosate. Now by the time they try to tank mix around resistance a lot of people are spending more per acre for herbicides, even before tech fees, than they were before.

We could have attacked chronic weed problems in corn with different chemistry and in fact it is avaialble- RR is just bundled into everything.

As many people have attested hee, RR mostly made farming easier and more fun (and easier to farm 20,000 acres). The farm lobby acts like a bunch of spoiled brats on this and other things- the ethanol legislation as it was written being a prime example- and deserves to get shook up a bit.

However it deserves to be shaken up with fact based policy, not hysteria. So I do agree with your initial post about the agent orange propaganda.

[k-289]

 " Hysteria " can be word smithed in several ways and examples--- like drought is to the CME and the other side of the coin with over supply  or  weapons of mass destruction in areas the we kept a war front on for almost a decade and the weapons never to be found --- the word abbreviated  for the chemical " DDT " brought about lots of discussion of the pro's and con's --- quick to label can be dangerous and careless on several fronts for either far "left " or  " right "   --- maybe that is why  " history  quill "  has more might than the sword ---       

[toughguy189]

For the record, www.infowars.com is not a leftist whacko group, they are more of a libertarian organization that has a substantial listening audience.  Not sure where to stand on the 2, 4-D issue, all chemicals contain considerable hazardous side effects while making our lives easier as farmers.  I have a strong distrust for Monsanto and all of the products they continue to push out with their claims of safety, effectiveness and increased yeilds.   Have we as farmers really seen that much of an increase in production with this new system, or has Monsanto just continually gotten more of our profit every year with a new herbicide and tech fee?