Court rules chemical spray drift is trespassing

Monday, October 3, 2011

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.

According to an article written by Nancy Burke, Jeff Peterson, and Jessica Mitchell of the Gray Plant Mooty Law Firm in Minnesota, the Court differentiated between "transient" manure smells that interfere with the enjoyment of property and liquid pesticide drift that "descends and clings to soils or plants.

"Most jurisdictions now recognize that agricultural chemical drift provides sufficient grounds for a trespass claim, and some courts are issuing injunctions against applicators to prohibit drift," the article reads.

Damages have yet to be determined. BF