Organic farmer Patsy Hopper, who lives five miles south of Urbana, has filed at least 11 complaints about pesticide drift with the Illinois Department of Agriculture in the last five years after herbicide applications near her farm damaged her trees, landscaping and perennial crops.
She said the pattern has continued despite her reports to the agency, which has logged overall about 1,400 pesticide misuse complaints about agricultural applicators in Illinois since 2020.
Hopper’s reports of damaged vegetation appear alongside similar injuries documented in regional monitoring across central Illinois. Trees and plants showing similar symptoms appear in findings from Prairie Rivers Network, which has monitored vegetation injuries across central Illinois.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines pesticide drift as the movement of pesticide dust or droplets through the air at the time of application or soon after, to any site other than the area intended.
Leaves on a sycamore tree and a redbud tree on Patsy Hopper’s farm show symptoms consistent with pesticide drift like cupping. Hopper said she documented the damage during the summer after herbicide applications on surrounding fields.
A few miles away from Hopper, in the spring and summer months, staff at Bluestem Hall Nature School, roughly five miles south of Urbana, say their outdoor classrooms can change without warning when pesticide applications begin, according to Executive Director Abbie Frank.
The school, at which the students spend roughly 80% of their year outdoors, sits beside several active farm operations where fieldwork often begins unannounced.
Frank said teachers leading lessons along their prairie paths have had to usher children back toward the building after noticing a sprayer applying pesticides is approaching a nearby field, or after sensing chemicals already drifting through the air.
Even the students have learned to recognize the signals.
Frank said children who can identify plants, insects and animal tracks have also learned to identify spraying machines by sight and sound. On some days, a semi-truck parked near the road is enough to indicate that a spray rig will soon follow.
During a visit in November, children were still learning outside despite the cold weather, reflecting the school’s commitment to outdoor education. Frank said the lack of information about nearby pesticide applications leaves them uncertain about when drift might occur or what chemicals may be present in the air.
Pesticide complaints, which can be about drift and other misuse, can be filed with the state and are evaluated and investigated based on evidence available at the time, according to the state’s published guidance.
State data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request shows agricultural applicators account for the majority of pesticide misuse complaints in Illinois. Between 2020 and November 2025, the state logged 1,680 total complaints, and 1,426 of them — nearly 85% — involved agricultural operations, far outnumbering other applicators.
Lawn care companies made up 156 complaints and other sources made up 70 complaints.
Reports came from both rural and suburban counties across the state, and Champaign County recorded 128 complaints during the five-year period — the highest total of any county in Illinois by more than double the next county, Pulaski.
Illinois offers few protections for schools in situations like these, setting it apart from states that require buffer zones or advance notification before spraying near children’s facilities. State pesticide regulations do not include a general notification requirement, and any drift-related concerns are handled through the complaint process.
Concerns at the Bluestem school have also drawn the attention of Prairie Rivers Network, an Illinois-based environmental organization that has pushed for stronger protections for children’s facilities located near active farmland.
Kim Erndt-Pitcher, the group’s director of ecological health, said situations like those described by Frank show why the state should adopt clearer requirements for advance notification when pesticides are applied near schools and other sensitive locations.
“[Prairie Rivers Network] will be reintroducing a bill that would require applicators making large-scale applications to notify nearby schools, parks, playgrounds, and day cares before they go out in the field,” Erndt-Pitcher said. “That would allow administrators to decide whether children should be outside.”
Erndt-Pitcher said the network’s legislative efforts are part of a broader strategy that includes regulatory work and public education.
“We are working at both the state and federal level on pesticide regulation,” she said. “We have submitted comments to the U.S. EPA on proposed re-registration, and we are working at that level as well.”
She said raising awareness is also important because many residents do not recognize the signs of herbicide injury.
“Many people see leaves that look a little odd but do not realize it is caused by drift,” Erndt-Pitcher said.
Drift complaints must be filed with the department within 30 days after an incident occurs or damage is noticed.
Erndt-Pitcher said filing complaints is critical even when enforcement outcomes are unclear.
“Getting that information to the Department of Agriculture is very important because that is what goes to the U.S. EPA, and that is what they use to determine the effectiveness of current pesticide laws,” she said.
Records from the Illinois Department of Agriculture indicate that pesticide drift continues to be reported across the state, and many of those complaints describe limited information about nearby applications.
Pesticide drift found in parks, schoolyards in recent study
In its recent report examining herbicide drift, the Prairie Rivers Network detected herbicides in common outdoors spaces like parks and yards.
The network’s 2024 report, Hidden in Plain Sight, examined tree and plant damage at sites including Champaign County and neighboring areas. Its team collected leaf samples from more than 280 locations in 40 counties and submitted them for laboratory analysis. Many samples tested positive for multiple herbicides, indicating exposure to chemical mixtures rather than a single product.
The report found symptoms consistent with herbicide drift at parks, schoolyards, natural areas and residential properties. It identified recurring signs of leaf cupping, twisting, yellowing, stunted growth and distorted branching patterns, which the organization said are common indicators of off-target herbicide movement.
The findings provide a regional context for the types of injuries described by residents who report drift to the state.
Erndt-Pitcher said the extent of vegetation injury documented in the organization’s monitoring indicates that Illinois needs more consistent statewide data.
“We really need comprehensive ecological monitoring to better understand this issue,” she said. “If we do not have data, we cannot address the issue.”
She also said multiple agencies may need to take a more active role in evaluating chemical movement across landscapes.
“These pesticides drift through the air, and this is something the Illinois EPA should be monitoring for air quality,” Erndt-Pitcher said. She noted pesticides can also move into water, which underscores the need for broader environmental testing.
Frank said the uncertainty around nearby applications shapes how her school approaches outdoor learning, particularly during seasons when spraying is more common.
Farmers like Hopper have reported damage they attribute to herbicide movement, and monitoring from Prairie Rivers Network has documented vegetation injuries across parks, neighborhoods and natural areas in central Illinois.
Recent proposals in Illinois have included expanded monitoring, clearer notification requirements and changes to state pesticide regulation. As those conversations continue, residents like Hopper and institutions like the Bluestem school are left responding to drift as they experience it, often without clear advance notice of when applications will occur.