Weed-killer prompts angry divide among US farmers

Little Rock, United States

WHEN it comes to the herbicide dicamba, farmers in the southern state of Arkansas are not lacking for strong opinions.

"Farmers need it desperately," said Perry Galloway.

"If I get dicamba on (my products), I can't sell anything," responded Shawn Peebles.

The two men know each other well, living just miles apart in the towns of Gregory and Augusta, in a corner of the state where cotton and soyabean fields reach to the horizon and homes are often miles from the nearest neighbour.

But they disagree profoundly on the use of dicamba.

Last year the agro-chemical giant Monsanto began selling soya and cotton seeds genetically modified to tolerate the herbicide.

The chemical product has been used to great effect against a weed that plagues the region, Palmer amaranth, or pigweed - especially since it became resistant to another herbicide, glyphosate, which has become highly controversial in Europe over its effects…