POPLAR GROVE, Ark. (AP) — The head of an Arkansas agency that has placed restrictions on the use of dicamba believes his farming operations were targeted by vandals because of his stance on the herbicide.
Terry Fuller, a Plant Board member for seven years who was recently elected chairman, said his eastern Arkansas farm has been vandalized three times this summer, resulting in more than $80,000 in damage, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. Damage was made to some of his tractors on two occasions this summer, he said, and more recently someone set fire to 367 hay bales.
The Plant Board has put various restrictions on dicamba, including on when it can be used. Fuller has been a vocal opponent of late-season widespread use of the herbicide, which can damage crops if they aren’t tolerant to it. However, farmers who plant dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton say they need the chemical to combat pigweed, which has grown resistant to other herbicides.
Fuller also found signs posted in at least four places near his farm that read: “Arkansas Pigweed Population. Sponsored by Terry Fuller & Arkansas Plant Board.” The state Department of Transportation said Thursday that it sent out a crew from a regional office to remove two large placards that had been placed on state highway signs.
In a letter to fellow board members this week, Fuller said he will “not yield to those who believe they can bully me into silence by acts of vandalism or character defamation.”
No arrests have been made in connection to the vandalism. The law enforcement division of the Department of Agriculture is leading the investigation, according to sheriff’s offices in eastern Arkansas that were contacted by Fuller.
