The Texas Wine Industry Is Just Getting Started. Grape Farmers Say the End Is Near........

[ibglowin]

Interesting article. Cotton is still King in TX........

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-p...ail&utm_term=0_92f99d7313-a208c22ed4-53279471

 

[ratflinger]

Well written article. Too much money to be made with the status quo, BASF & Bayer need to invest more in making sure that these chemicals are not only safe for the farmers to use, but safe for the farmers neighbors too. Too often they stop research at 'Works fine on our target crop'.

 

[balatonwine]

From article:

"I guarantee you, if this was going on in California it would have been stopped four years ago,” Timmons told me. “But Sid Miller, the Texas agriculture commissioner, is all in on cotton.”

That is, money again rules, especially with politics..... Not fair play or justice.

Do note, after long expensive legal battles (past validation is no guarantee for future actions), Bayer has had to already compensate wine growers for damage:

https://beyondpesticides.org/dailyn...pay-fines-for-fungicide-damage-to-wine-crops/
Interestingly, Bayer also makes Serenade, an organic grape fungicide. Which simply shows that corporations are really only interested in making money. in any market they can. And can avoid having any real core ethical value system. Not in any form: ecological, environmental, or personal health issues for their consumers. But, then again, many consumers today are more than happy to get whatever for the cheapest price possible, so unlikely to revolt. Corporations count on that. Who to blame is complicated. Proper incremental accountability could mean micro steps so all could benefit with limited cost, but that is not the current system. The current system is based on keeping status quo to benefit the few, or the majority, at the expense of the many, or the minority, till there is a storm. Sadly, storms do tend to build over time and strong storms can do a lot of damage.....

A flawed system, IMHO.

Again, all only IMHO or course. Just saying.......

 

[user 35751]

Thank you for sharing

 

[ChuckD]

Big money runs roughshod over the little guy?

I am shocked

 

[heatherd]

I read that article. It is a shame because Texas wine is really good these days.

 

[Bossbaby]

I was once a licensed pesticide applicator here in Wisconsin for Tru Green chem lawn, Dicamba,2-4-d and clopyralid were some of the main pesticides we were spraying on lawns at the time. so I find this article interesting in that I always wondered how much impact to surrounding plantlife there was with a heavy concentration in one area,say I did 8 lawns on one street with a steady breeze that day creating a drift in one direction. Vegetable gardens were one thing I always stayed 5 or so feet away from otherwise there would be some damage that the customer would call and complain about. I can only imagine what hundreds of acres of spraying would do down wind of that property. sounds like cotton is more important than wine in texas.

 

[mbrssmd]

Such a sad situation. And I agree -- also IMHO -- a flawed system. As to just how flawed that overall system may be -- one may want to check out the federal subsidies that go to the largest cotton producers, often accounting for a ridiculous percentage of the overall annual value of the Texas cotton crop.

While that helps in the cotton reaching export markets, the subsidies have also been a 20+ year source of nasty friction with other countries, particularly some of the poorest African countries who feel squeezed out of those markets as they try to scratch out some economic growth through cotton exports.

Again, this is IMHO -- and based on some experiences at what was once an often-annoying day job.

 

[balatonwine]

the subsidies have also been a 20+ year source of nasty friction with other countries, particularly some of the poorest African countries who feel squeezed out of those markets as they try to scratch out some economic growth through cotton exports.

Have worked as a consultant on and off in Africa for over two decades. This is indeed a problem.