Monsanto Co. invited dozens of weed scientists to a summit this week to win backing for a controversial herbicide but many have declined, threatening the company’s efforts to convince regulators the product is safe to use.
Monsanto faces a barrage of lawsuits over its dicamba herbicide and risks of tighter restrictions on its use, after the chemical drifted away from where it was sprayed this summer and damaged nearby crops unable to tolerate it.
Arkansas and Missouri suffered the most complaints of U.S. states with damage linked to dicamba. Weed scientists from the two states declined to attend the summit on concerns about Monsanto’s response to the incident.
