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Article: Idaho farmers sue federal agency over lost crops
- Article from:
- AP Online
- Article date:
- June 8, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. (Hide copyright information)
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When his beets came in patchy, pushing through the soil with misshapen and discolored leaves, Perry Van Tassell did what most farmers would do: He watered more. And more. And more.
"They looked like they were thirsty," said Van Tassell, who farms outside the small, southern Idaho town of Paul. "They looked like they were in a frozen state."
It was 2001, and Van Tassell, like most farmers, had hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in his crops. His corn fields stood shorter than his toddler son when they should have been stretching 12 feet high.
He came to believe his land had been tainted with Oust, a potent herbicide that kills plants by ...