Using Dicamba in 2020? Hold Off Before Applying

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – On Wednesday, cotton and soybean growers were dealt a tremendous blow as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the registration of three dicamba herbicides. With farmers planting around 60 million acres of the dicamba-tolerant crops this year, the ruling effectively shuts down the application of XtendiMax (from Bayer), Engenia (from BASF), and FeXapan (from Corteva). The suit was filed by the National Family Farm Coalition and alleges that the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) as well as the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when registering dicamba for over-the-top weed control in 2017. The COurt ruled that EPA substantially understated the amount of dicamba to be used, and registration happened after widespread instances of off-target injury to other crops in 2017 and 2018. Though no guidance has yet been issued by EPA, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is re-affirming USDA’s support for the registration process and is calling on EPA to use any available flexibilities to allow the continued use this season of “already purchased dicamba products”. One manufacturer, Bayer, has said they will fight to have the case overturned. Syngenta, the makers of Tavium dicamba herbicide, appears to not be affected by the ruling. For farmers considering the application of one of the three products affected, the Court wrote: “using registered dicamba products on dicamba-tolerant cotton or dicamba-tolerant soybeans crops that are not registered specifically for post-emergence use is inconsistent with the pesticide’s labeling and a violation of FIFRA.”
(SOURCE: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)