Arkansas State Plant Board

Court Orders Nine Members of Plant Board to be Removed

by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)

The Pulaski County Circuit Court, 6th Division, issued an order Thursday (June 10) removing nine of the 18 members of the State Plant Board from their positions on the board. The Court’s action was a result of a ruling from the Arkansas Supreme Court that those nine members had been unconstitutionally appointed.

In 2017, a lawsuit was filed by six Arkansas farmers challenging the constitutionality of the statute that provides for certain members of the Plant Board to be elected by private trade associations. The circuit court upheld the constitutionality of the statute and the farmers appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

The members removed from the Board are:

Tommy Anderson, Arkansas Agricultural Aviation Association; Marty Eaton, Arkansas Seed Dealers Association; Terry Fuller, Arkansas Seed Growers Association; Mark Hopper, Arkansas Pest Management Association; Brad Koen, Arkansas Crop Protection Association; Scott Milburn, Arkansas Forestry Association; Mark Morgan, Arkansas State Horticultural Society; Jason Parks, Arkansas Green Industry Association; and Terry Stephenson, Arkansas Oil Marketers Association.

https://talkbusiness.net/2021/06/court-orders-nine-members-of-plant-board-to-be-removed/

arkansas.gov

Arkansas State Plant Board Again Loosens Dicamba Restrictions

By DANIEL BREEN

State agriculture regulators have once again shifted the rules governing a controversial herbicide that’s been blamed for widespread crop damage.

Members of the Arkansas State Plant Board on Monday voted to change the cutoff date for spraying dicamba, an herbicide used on genetically-modified cotton and soybeans.

The weedkiller, which has been responsible for thousands of complaints of damage in the state, can now be sprayed legally until the end of June, later than last year’s May 25 cutoff. That’s despite research from the University of Arkansas showing the chemical can vaporize at higher temperatures, causing damage to non-tolerant plants.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/arkansas-state-plant-board-again-loosens-dicamba-restrictions

Leaves of non-tolerant soybeans show signs of dicamba damage at a University of Arkansas research station in Keiser, Ark. in July 2019.CREDIT DANIEL BREEN / KUAR NEWS

Leaves of non-tolerant soybeans show signs of dicamba damage at a University of Arkansas research station in Keiser, Ark. in July 2019.

CREDIT DANIEL BREEN / KUAR NEWS