West Texas Vineyards Blasted By Herbicide Drift From Nearby Cotton Fields

August 21, 20185:02 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition

On the High Plains in West Texas, hot winds blast through cotton fields as far as the eye can see. ... In the middle of it all is a tiny vineyard. ... Andis Applewhite is the owner. She's an artist whose family has worked this land for a century. They once planted crops more typical of the neighborhood, like cotton and wheat. Applewhite decided to try something different: She put in a couple of acres of cabernet franc grapes. ... "It's fun," says Applewhite as we stand in her fields. She inspects a vine that is starting to wrap itself around a trellis. "It's looking like a real grape plant."

But Applewhite has yet to harvest a crop. Over the past two years, something has caused her vines to twist and wither. And she's not alone. Grapevines in Texas are being damaged by a seemingly invisible force. ... Livelihoods are at stake. Texas is one of the largest wine-producing states. It has more than 400 wineries. The industry says it boosts the state's economy by some $13 billion annually.

The damage at Applewhite's vineyard and elsewhere is likely coming from one of her cotton-growing neighbors. New weedkillers used on the cotton crop are drifting beyond the fields and causing damage elsewhere. ... The same herbicides are being used on soy and other crops in the U.S. Some estimates, such as this report published last month from the University of Missouri, suggest that drift this year from one of the herbicides, dicamba, has caused over a million acres of damage to vulnerable crops across the country.

When Applewhite first noticed what was happening, she says, "I was really mad. I wanted to kind of lash out." ... "But then I said, 'No, I really need to get more information, and this is going to be a process.' "
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