Ranchers Beware of Herbicide Phone Scam
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All over Montana, ranchers are getting phone calls from a telemarketing company offering a wonder-herbicide to control all your noxious weed needs. As it turns out, the herbicide is usually a 9% 2,4-D formulation costing $89 to $150 per gallon. These products are a very weak formulation of 2,4-D and ranchers are being duped. The callers claim exceptional weed control for a wide range of weeds and that Tordon 22K(tm) is going to be cancelled for use in 2005. "This claim about Tordon being cancelled is absolutely false," according to Steve Saunders of Dow AgroSciences, Belgrade, MT.
Leonard Berry, MT Department of Agriculture has been investigating these calls which continue to be an ongoing problem to landowners in Montana for a number of years. Berry says, "This type of selling is not new in Montana, but the part to be aware of, is the fact the landowners are not getting what they think until the product arrives, usually C.O.D." Landowners are encouraged to not agree to anything until you have had the opportunity to see a herbicide label and if you a say yes to a trial, sample or any other offer, you may be committed to a very expensive 2,4-D.