Chemical Trespassing

The term used when herbicides, insecticides or other chemicals applied to one plot of ground migrate and unwantedly affect another plot of ground. An example can be found in the Willamette Valley of Oregon where vineyards—many of them ORGANIC and/or BIODYNAMIC—are planted in very close proximity to hazelnut and fruit orchards. In the latter, farmers use chemicals extensively in order to insure bare brown ground, completely devoid of weeds, to make harvesting their crops easier.  The chemicals used in the orchards then often infiltrate surrounding vineyards.