WASHINGTON, D.C. — Weed scientists and extension experts often argue that rented land exacerbates the herbicide resistance problem in America.
They say farmers who grow crops on rented land care only about immediate profits and adopt a scorched earth policy when it comes to land management.
Clyde Smith, a sales representative for United Phosphorus Inc. (UPI), an agricultural product supplier in North America, said that assumption might no longer be correct.
Smith, who attended a herbicide resistance summit held in Washington in early September, said cropland with herbicide resistant weeds generates lower rent and sells for less than land without the problem.
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Consequently, landowners are be-coming more vigilant about weed management.
“When I worked in extension there (Florida), we had several farms that once they had become infested with Palmer (amaranth), they lost 30 percent of their rental value for four or five years,” said Smith, who one worked as a pest management extension agent in Florida.
Smith now sells crop protection products in a broad swath of land from the U.S. South to the Midwest.
“I’ve heard, in Illinois and Missouri, of land rent being decreased and land value for them (owners) to sell it being decreased.”
Stephen Powles, an Australian farmer and weed scientist at the University of Western Australia, said a similar phenomenon occurs in his country. Cropland infested with herbicide resistant weeds will be lower than comparable land without the problem.
“At least in Australia, land value is affected … by herbicide resistance issues,” said Powles, who made a presentation at the summit.
“Farmers will always investigate when buying a farm whether the weeds are resistant. If they are, that will diminish the income that can be earned, and they will discount the value of the land.”
Land values range from $5,000 to $10,000 an acre in the U.S. Midwest, which gives landowners a massive financial interest in maintaining those values, Smith said.
Landowners become keenly interested in how renters manage weeds if herbicide resistant weeds compromise the value of cropland.
“Now there’s a impetus for me, as the landowner, to understand resistance, how to manage it and what you (the renter) are doing to grow those crops,” Smith said.
The landowner might terminate the rental agreement with the neglectful grower if one renter is taking action to mitigate herbicide resistance and another is applying too much glyphosate.
Smith said U.S. lending institutions are also worried about weeds, considering the amount of money at stake.
“Corporate land managers or lending facilities … they want to see a (weed) management plan,” he said.
Jill Schroeder, a weed scientist with New Mexico State University, agreed that landowners, renters and agriculture financiers are key players in finding solutions to the expanding problem of herbicide resistance in North America.
Smith said farm lenders have definitely had an impact on herbicide resistance management in parts of the U.S.
“I think it has been a game changer, especially in areas in the southeast,” he said. “As we see it (Palmer amaranth) move into in Illinois, Iowa and Kansas … I think we may see the same thing there.”
