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From the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

The N.C. Pesticide Board recently approved the following settlement agreements for cases in several counties, including Beaufort County. In addition to Beaufort, cases in Guilford, Mecklenburg, Nash, Pitt, Sampson, Union and Yadkin counties have also reached a settlement. Settlements involved cases of improper pesticide disposal, improper pesticide application, the improper purchasing and selling of pesticides and drift damage.

John C. Respess, a licensed private pesticide applicator in Pantego, agreed to pay $800 for using pesticides in a manner inconsistent with their labeling. The investigation revealed Respess lacked the required training and improperly applied the pesticides, among other violations of the pesticide labels and state law.

The crops affected by Respess’ inconsistent utilization of pesticides were reported to the N.C. Pesticide Board in July of 2019. The damage noted was on a soybean crop and was caused by the herbicide dicamba. The crop in question was not tolerant to dicamba and was injured when the herbicide was applied to the plant.