How an herbicide for cotton could hurt the Texas Hill Country wine industry
The Panhandle’s High Plains are an arid, inhospitable swath of land where temperatures often rise over 100 degrees and wind blows a good 5 miles an hour faster than the national average. But a bird soaring above the ground below would see a patchwork quilt of white and green interwoven within the broad stretches of dusty brown that define the terrain.
Tasting room manager David Prejza pours a pinot noir for a group visiting Sister Creek Vineyards in Sisterdale.Meaghan Freiter , Elise Damman and Wendy Mobley-Bukstein learn about the Sister Creek Vineyards wines from tasting room manager David Prejza.Sam Owens /Staff photographer A BASF spokesperson stated in an email that company officials are aware of the suit and disagree with its claims. “It is well documented that a 2019 freeze contributed significantly to the grower’s current complaints and that other known sources of herbicides, such as applications to public rights of way, have been ignored by the growers,” the email said.
Hill Country wineries already are experiencing a shortage of Texas grapes they say is thanks to dicamba — just as Texas’ young wine scene is claiming a place of honor on the national stage. But for Hill Country wine tourists simply seeking a scenic respite and a proper day-drinking buzz instead of sniffing out the subtle differences between a sagrantino and a sangiovese, it seems unlikely the good times will stop flowing.At first blush, it’s hard to imagine anything thriving in the harsh climate of the Texas High Plains. But grapes aren’t a normal crop. Some of the world’s best and most distinctive wines come from climates and terrains that would stress most plants.
Growers could pivot and plant more vineyard acreage in the Hill Country, and there’s enough open land already in the designated Texas Hill Country American Viticultural Area distinction to support that. But it doesn’t make much economic sense when the High Plains already has the grapes, the farmers eager to to grow them and the cheaper land.
Dicamba has been used by row-crop farmers, including cotton planters, since the 1960s, but because of its tendency to drift to surrounding fields, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limited its use to the months before the growing season. The Texas wine industry overall employs more than 100,000 people and has an economic impact of $13.1 billion, according to a 2017 study by the national industry group Wine America, the most recent available. About half of the state’s wineries are located in the Hill Country.
“The lower yields because of dicamba put everybody at risk, but it’s definitely going to be extremely challenging for smaller wineries,” DeBerry said.
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