Tree Damage From Crop Spraying

[lone wolf]

Received an email from the reporter after explaining why she can't be here Monday and asking her to not run the letter because I am afraid of how some might respond to it, what a huge can of worms it is, etc... I literally said I fear for my safety. But, I said she was more than welcome to come out any other time have a look at the damage and to discuss it further.

This is her reply.
Does this come across as snarky to you? It sure hit me that way.

"I’ll ask our editor to pull your letter. He’d already saved space for it.
Fortunately, we have other things to cover and feature for Earth Day that won’t risk anyone’s health
(she actually put a smilie face there)
I’ll cancel my appointment to come out Monday.
Thanks! And good luck with your gardens and soil.
Happy Earth Day!"

"Good luck with your gardens and soil????"
WTF?
Clueless.
Confirms I made the right decision.

Stupid idiots, Earth Day ,what the hell do you think all those chemicals are doing to the Earth?

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Stupid idiots, Earth Day ,what the hell do you think all those chemicals are doing to the Earth?

That's exactly what I thought!! So, I assume you took that reply the same why I did?

Yesterdays paper there were all kinds of articles, some written by her, about the farmers market, the gardening club, and a new greenhouse for the middle school.
Yes, all positive about all the wonderful things people are doing regarding agriculture.

BUT, and it's a huge BUT, there is no mention of, or even a desire to know, what's going on right under their noses, in front of their eyes, what's destroying their environment!!

That's what makes me so angry.
Planting trees on Arbor Day and teaching children how things grow, is futile if the farmers and nurserymen are using chemicals that destroy non-target life.

Like I've said before, it's win/win/ for the growers- the chemicals the farmers use are killing the trees and the nurserymen are selling trees to replace them.
Here's the kicker though - and another boon for the nursery trade - the trees they are growing here and selling are also contaminated and doomed to an early death, which means the sooner they'll need to be replaced.

You know what it is? Planned obsolescence for life.
And not just for trees either.

Mailed 65 letters yesterday. Another 40 or so today. Most should be delivered on Earth Day.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

115 letters mailed.
They can't say they weren't warned.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Good news today, sort of.

First of all the trees that were nice and green two weeks ago are maintaining their dark emerald green color and the big buckeye is loaded with flower spikes.
The inspector, the Ag agent, and the farmer showed up this morning.
The inspector took samples, but was overall impressed with how "good" things are looking, as am I.

I finished my inventory and categorized the trees by condition. Now I need to measure them and price them for the ins. company.
I have five categories, 0=no visible damage, 1=sparse green leaves, slight curling, 2= moderate limb die-back, moderated leaf damage, 3= severe limb die-back, sparse tiny leaves, 4= Dead.
Totals:
0=22 (mostly cedar, arbs, pines)
1=45
2=24
3=24
4-22 (mostly redbud, Paulownia, mimosa, and walnut)

The #3's will likely be dead next year. The #2's might, or might not make it.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Finally was able to take photos today.
2024 Yard Inspection, after field spraying

Dead mimosa


Small dead mimosa (my neighbors mimosa is dead too)


Dead Nandina patch


Near-dead Paulownia, dead redbud behind it


Near-dead redbud

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Dead walnut trees. You can see the burned-down soybean field in the background.


Near-dead pecans


My Magnificent Buckeye!


L to R Maple, poplars, B.Pear, cherry, dogwood. Pears are pitiful.


Magnificent buckeye leaves and flower

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Buckeye loaded with flower spikes!


Great color on leaves, slightly droopy though but I think they'll firm up eventually. Fingers crossed.


Buckeye No.3 got hit pretty hard, leaves were curled up tight as a cigarette a few days ago, but appear to be opening up.


Buckeye No.3 leaves opening up


Dead Paulownia, center, dying poplar to the right

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Curled leaves, funky yellow-green color on buckeye No.3


Badly damaged white oak. It is trying to put out new leaves at the tips.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Definitely were a lot of casualties.
But, the overall color of the yard is emerald green, the shade has returned, and most of all, my magnificent buckeye appears to be (knock wood), not only recovering, but thriving and loaded with flower clusters.

Looks like I might have a bumper crop of buckeyes this year - if so, I'll be giving them away to anyone who wants a souvenir of this fiasco.
You can bet my yard will be covered up with buckeye trees from here on out!

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Wonderful news this morning!!

Just got off the phone with the man in charge of the crop planting for a huge outfit in the area...
https://woodallgrain.com/

I told him I noticed the beautiful brown soil in the freshly tilled fields near me and asked him what they are doing different from the burndown fields I normally see.

Here's what he said...
Yes, they tilled that ground, no chemical spraying first. They will go back and spray an herbicide after the plants are up about 6", using less chemical.
He said it's more labor, more wear and tear on the equipment, but the ground is cleaner and they use half the chemicals and because they use less chemical the weeds will be less likely to become resistant to them.
He also said they never use Dicamba because of the gassing off issue.

I asked him if he could think of any website where I could read more on his method, or if it's something they came up with on their own. He said it's their own idea, and they are doing it on all their fields since they are seeing great results.

He also said in one field they were working, I guess when they first went back to tilling, they had people on the side of the road taking pictures because it's been 20 years or more since they saw that process. I know it's been that long since I've seen it done here. He said more and more farmers are going back to tilling, two reasons being it's better for the soil/crop and uses less chemical.

I told him who I was and why I was so interested and he understood my concerns completely.
I asked him what we can do to get all the other farmers onboard and he just chuckled and said he didn't know.

I thanked him for his time and said, "G0d bless you for doing this."