Spray drift qualifies as trespass, thanks to a ruling handed down recently by the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Organic farmers Oluf and Debra Johnson sued Paynesville Farmers Union Co-operative Oil Company, alleging that pesticide and herbicide applications repeatedly drifted onto their property, damaging crops. As well, the Johnsons lost their organic certification and the higher prices associated with their produce. The state department of agriculture ordered affected fields to be removed from organic production for three years and some crops destroyed.