The Killing Season

by Denise O'Brien from "Firmly Rooted"

Photo by Mirko Fabian on Unsplash

The people of Iowa have had somewhat of a respite since poisons filled the air in the spring during corn and bean planting time. That respite is over. The crop dusters are now flying through the countryside spraying fungicides on everything and everyone. The people flying the killing machines are probably nice people. They are doing the job they were hired for - spraying fungicides to protect the corn from Fungal Disease

Back and forth, back and forth - helicopter or plane doesn't matter. Gotta get that disease in check!

When my eighteen year old granddaughter was 3, I made a rare trip to the doctor because I wasn’t feeling well. I was lethargic and just out of sorts. The hometown doc drew my blood and ordered tests from the lab. He called me the next day to tell me my liver functions were way off and that I needed to come in; he told me that the tests indicated that I might have some kind of cancer. I made appointments for a colonoscopy and an endoscopy (tube down the throat) in Omaha, that is where one goes in this part of western Iowa. Fortunately for me, my test results did not reveal any presence of cancer.

Doc drew more blood and the return tests showed that everything was normal. What happened? We don’t really know. I was certainly glad that my tests returned normal but was confused about why that happened. The only conclusion we could draw was the aerial spraying that took place the week I did not feel well. This certainly was not conclusive, but after researching fungicides, it did seem possible that there was a link. I will never know, but it certainly made me suspicious.

Fungicides are harmful to human beings. I learned this from the Center for Food Safety website Fungicides

Triazole fungicides cause liver tumors in rodents, leading EPA to classify them as possible or probable carcinogens in humans. These fungicides also cause fatty changes in the liver, which predispose to more serious conditions like steatohepatitis and cirrhosis. Triazoles exhibit neurotoxicity, disrupt the hormonal system, and some adversely affect the thyroid gland. In the year 2000, EPA imposed a moratorium on new triazole approvals until fungicide manufacturers submitted more studies exploring these impacts. They refused. EPA nevertheless dropped the moratorium in 2006, unleashing a spate of new approvals.

Yesterday the crop dusters flew over our farm heading for the annual drenching of everything.

Helicopter Spraying Fungicide

This video was produced in Indiana but the scenario is the same in Iowa. You will notice that these guys are not wearing any protective clothing. I am always amazed by the lack of concern that many applicators have of the harmful chemicals they are applying. I’ve talked with my neighbor about this and he says “Oh Denise, these chemicals are safe. I don’t have to worry!” I just want to scream.

“So what can we do?” you may ask. There is no reason to feel totally helpless, after all during last year’s Iowa legislative session we were able to stop, with the help of Iowa Farmers Union, the pesticide liability bill - appropriately referred to as the pesticide protection for chemical companies bill. We will probably encounter that again in January 2026.Bayer has a lot of money to spend on trying to find a sympathetic audience.

Every time there is a spraying monster in my neighborhood, whether on the ground or in the air, I record the wind speed and direction, temperature, time of day, if there is a strong smell, or taste and take pictures of any vegetation or dead bees. I always get a headache when chemicals are sprayed.

Having a record is important. Iowa has very weak laws regarding contamination by chemicals, but if one does file a complaint, you must have proof. If you have dead vegetation or dead bees they must be sent to a lab for analysis. Burden of proof is on the shoulders of the person making the complaint.

The specialty crop registers Sensitive Crop Registry and Driftwatch is the place to register your farm or property, that is over 1/2 acre. Pesticide applicators are required to look at Field Check and then use precautions when spraying.

Here is what is listed on Driftwatch.

- Beehives/apiaries
- The following crops (includes conventional and certified organic designations):
- commercial vegetable plots (berries, fruits, pumpkins or melons, and vegetables)
- commercial nursery crops
- commercial vineyards (grapes)
- commercial orchards
- commercial evergreen/Christmas tree plantings

- Certified organic row crops, small grains, and pasture
- All commercial crops transitioning to certified organic
- Certain corn and soybean crops, including non-GMO lines, that may be sensitive to some pesticides
- The minimum field size for all specialty crop sites is ½ acre.

There is a Pesticide Bureau and information at Investigation and Enforcement on what to do if there is drift but no form to fill out to file a complaint, you have to email or call the bureau. From experiences people have share with me the process may be slow.

Heavy propaganda tools are used to convince Iowans that we must grow corn. If you listen to sports on the radio you will hear “Iowa doesn’t grow corn. Corn grows Iowa”, over and over and over again. It’s insidious. The Iowa Farm Bureau, the Iowa Corn Growers and other commodity groups are complicit in killing our soil and our people.

As concerned citizens, it is important to educate ourselves and others to the dangers of agribusiness practices in Iowa. Not only educate ourselves but ask questions and become involved with fighting for clean water, healthy soil and healthy people. Iowa does not have an agricultural system we have an agribusiness, extractive, capitalistic economic system that does not respect life in any form. The bottom line is profit and profit is all the agribusiness companies care about.

Two actions are critical to moving forward.

1. Join the best farm organization in the state, a real farm organization - the Iowa Farmers Union Iowa Farmers Union

2. Work hard to recruit and elect a bona fide farmer to the post of Secretary of Ag in Iowa in 2026. There are names floating around and if you know someone who fits the bill, please encourage them. I ran for Secretary of Ag in 2006. It was hard work but rewarding to meet urban and rural folks all across the state who are unified to create a better Iowa.

Denise O’Brien is a well-known activist and organizer who writes the Substack column Firmly Rooted. O’Brien is the founder of Women, Food, and Agriculture Network, and has worked tirelessly for improved agricultural policy and practice. She lives near Atlantic, Iowa, on Rolling Acres Farm.

Mary Swander is the Executive Director of AgArts, and editor of Emerging Voices. She is a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Subscribe! Become a paid subscriber if you can afford it. Please and thank you. We need you. Thanks for being part of the team!