Weld County farmer sues chemical company over claims herbicide killed crops

FORT LUPTON — The operators of a Weld County farm just outside of Fort Lupton are suing a Loveland agricultural chemical company over accusations that the firm used the wrong type of herbicide and ruined a crop of peppers. 

Plaintiff Villano Farms LLC, which filed suit this week in Weld County District Court against Pinnacle Agriculture Enterprises LLC, claims to have planted 37 acres of pepper crops last year and contracted with the defendant to spray herbicide Triflurex HFP to treat the soil.

“Soon after the peppers were planted, [Villano Farms representatives] noticed that the crop was deficient,” according to the complaint.

SPONSORED CONTENT

People Powered: Preparing Longmont Businesses for Economic Success

Longmont Chamber and FNBO present People Powered on April 24, 2024, aiming to inform business owners about workforce development, housing, and transportation issues.

Through conversations with Pinnacle employees, the plaintiff eventually learned that the device used to spray Villano Farms’ soil had recently been used to spray another type of herbicide called Atrazine without being cleaned between uses, the suit alleges. 

“Atrazine is not an appropriate chemical for a pepper crop,” the complaint said, and the Villano farms peppers could not be sold.

Additionally, the suit claims that the Atrazine damaged the soil, which “will need to be rehabilitated before being used to grow and cultivate crops.”

Since the incident with the pepper crops, Pinnacle, which did not respond to requests for comment Friday, “ignored [the] plaintiff’s request to address or remedy the problem,” attorneys for Villano Farms claim.

The suit, which accuses Pinnacle of negligence and violations of the Consumer Protection Act, asks a court to award unspecified damages. 

© 2021 BizWest Media LLC