Chemical Trespass Drift Report from Prairiesun Organics in South Dakota

PDF report - an outcome of our chemical trespass drift event and it concludes with our call to action. http://goo.gl/uByudC. 

Our organic farm was hit with drift and now we are out of business while we transition back into organic.

On Wednesday, July 12^th at approximately 5:30pm, a small airplane flew extremely close over our house. Immediately, my husband ran toward the house out of the processing plant and smelled a strong odor of herbicide chemicals. We all thought the plane was in trouble due to the close proximity to the house.  He came back for a 2^nd and 3^rd pass along north corn field edge near our bodies. We stood there in our front yard looking on in disbelief. We found ourselves engulfed in a heavy vapor cloud at the end of our driveway.  I, Angela, ran back in the house to get my cell phone to take video and pictures. My husband met me back in the middle of the road waving our “No Spray” sign to get him to stop, but the pilot would not stop.  The chemicals were later reported as Brigade EC insecticide and Trivapro fungicide that came in contact with our skin, eyes, nose, mouth, our residence, our pets, our livestock, rented grass pasture, and our certified organic farm causing severe negative impact to our operation and our health. We were outside on an 86-degree day with neighbor.  Wind speed was under 10mph with little gusts and swirls largely due to all the trees. The commercial applicator has stated through a third party that his pilot did nothing wrong, and refuses to provide us with his liability insurance company information and refuses to respond to our certified letters, phone calls, and text messages. Included in this presentation portfolio you will find the South Dakota state inspection report, list of federal USDA National Organic Program violations, Notification of non-compliance issued to us, pesticide test results, maps, and the other supporting documentation.