I'm not in a major crop growing area. More ranch/grazing than there are crops. I know on my property nor the adjoining pieces of land have not had regular use of herbicides applied. What the drought has been doing to the vegetation is very visible. River bottom trees like pecan are being decimated. Native grasses are staying dormant. On the other hand, Opuntia 'prickly pear' cactus and Mesquite trees take advantage of the decline of other types of vegetation. The increase in Opuntia in my county has been remarkable and very fast. Crop farming has been in decline here for several decades now and some of the abandoned fields are unrecognizable. The shift on what's managing to live and grow on my little piece of land is a visual thing, but I think it is primarily due to the extended period of lower rainfall. The decline in the amount of milkweed may not be caused by the drought, but I'm skeptical it would be caused by herbicide use in my location.
