[Calvadnack]

Please allow a rant from a very angry smallholder.
A farming neighbour’s contractor has just sprayed Glyphosate over his own fields with the drifting spray ending up over the top of a Cornish hedge and across a third of some of my adjoining fields which are grazed by my sheep. It will also have ended up on some newly planted saplings.
The neighbour has provided me with one of the cans to prove it was “only” Glyphos and would not hurt the sheep.  He has also given me the contact details of the agronomist who supplied it to get further details.
I know that glyphosate is said to be inactive on contact with the soil, but I would never, ever have allowed animals for slaughter to go anywhere near it.  It has taken me years to get this pasture to become meadow grass producing beautiful hay and good grazing.  Although it was meant to be sprayed at a weak strength to get rid of the docks infesting his field (due to bad management) I’m now really worried that it’s going to kill my grass.
The neighbour didn’t offer anything, except that he would speak to the bloke who did the spraying.
I’ve stopped the sheep going into the fields, but I don’t have enough grazing to keep them out for too long.
 [/size]Apart from being very, very angry I’m not sure what to do, any ideas ?

[Lesley Silvester]

You're entitled to a rant. I'd be fuming if it happened to me.  Surely there are laws to protect you from this.  Would he have still done it if you were growing organic vegetables?

He should at least have prganised it for when the wind was blowing off your land.

[Fleecewife]

There's a limit to wind speed for spraying - about 6 or 7 mph I think.  Contractors should all have massive insurance, at least up to a million £s.  If you don't have official organic status it would be difficult to prove any damage though.
When a similar thing happened when our neighbour's field was sprayed, again using a contractor, I stopped him in mid spray and now he keeps well away from our hedges.  I lost a crop of sweetcorn one year to weedkiller spray drift and another year some fruit trees. 
Our neighbour is very conscientious and was upset at what happened, although the contractor himself just airily said that he had a million £s of insurance so we could sue if we wanted. The neighbour is now careful to let us know when he will be spraying, so I can keep my polytunnel closed, and he is also careful to keep below the wind speed limits.
 
I know this doesn't help in your situation, except if it was me I would be contacting the contractor and getting details of his insurer.  You might not be able to win but just to start a case should keep him away from your pasture and hedge in future.
I would certainly be ranting too 

[Calvadnack]

Thank you so much for your understanding.  I'm a little calmer this morning.  Also it rained !!

Unfortunately I've just found out it was actually done by a different farming neighbour rather than a contractor who will probably be spraying under "grandfather's rights" instead of a certificate of competence.
I've also spoken to the supplier of the spray who advised me to wait 10 days to see the damage and take action then. He was very good and has promised to bear in mind that these men are not listening to him either.


No wonder farming gets such a bad name grrr.

[sabrina]

We had this a few years ago. One of my mares who had just foaled was out in the paddock and became very ill. I was very bad with a chesty cough for weeks. My OH took pictures of the paddock and our garden where all the plants died. I had to fight them to get my vet bills paid but we never even got a sorry.