Larry Jacobs takes pride in his organic dill, which he grows at Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo. For years he’d been supplying Whole Foods with the bright green herb, grown organically on his farm just north of Santa Cruz. Then one day he received a phone call. His dill had tested positive for pesticides. It could not be certified organic. The problem, he discovered, was the liquid pesticides used to spray Brussel sprouts on a neighboring, non-organic farm. Those pesticides vaporized and were carried in the wind to his dill.
Larry Jacobs takes pride in his organic dill, which he grows at Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo. For years he’d been supplying Whole Foods with the bright green herb, grown organically on his farm just north of Santa Cruz. Then one day he received a phone call. His dill had tested positive for pesticides. It could not be certified organic. The problem, he discovered, was the liquid pesticides used to spray Brussel sprouts on a neighboring, non-organic farm. Those pesticides vaporized and were carried in the wind to his dill.
Jacobs sued the neighboring farm and was awarded $1 million. Earlier this week, the 6th Appellate District Court upheld the ruling. The case is important because it recognizes that farmers are responsible for pesticides that disperse in the air even after they are applied legally. The neighboring farm, the corporate owned Western Farm Service, argued that such a ruling would “impose a serious burden” on them.
The new ruling changes that. Even if they are applied within the restrictions of the law, pesticide users can still be held liable for any harm that their pesticides cause to neighboring farms. Read more at Santa Cruz Sentinel.
