Certified organic crops have restrictions on the herbicides and pesticides they can come in contact with in order to maintain their certification. Organic farmers near the Ottawa community of Stittsville say they've had to destroy portions of their crops because the city botched its notification process for spraying herbicides to kill wild parsnip. Coote will have to mow down swaths of crops bordering the road for three years because they were exposed to herbicide. Bob Whitmore, another certified organic farmer at Whitsend Market Garden, had to do the same with some of his spinach crop. The infestation is growing in Ottawa, and to stop its spread the city has allotted $198,000 in the 2016 budget for mowing and herbicide spraying, up from $100,000 in 2015.

Source: CBC News June 15, 2016 12:59 UTC