The new rules pertain to farmers in Iowa and Minnesota
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Farmers in two U.S. states will have additional restrictions placed on their dicamba usage this year.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published further label amendments for soybean growers on March 15.
The changes apply to Engenia by BASF, Tavium from Syngenta and Bayer’s XtendiMax dicamba products.
The new labels prohibit dicamba application:
- On dicamba-tolerant crops after June 20 in Iowa;
- On dicamba-tolerant crops south of Interstate 94 after June 12 in Minnesota (the cut-off date for land north of Interstate 94 remains June 30); and
- When the air temperature is over 85 degrees at the time of application or if the forecasted high temperature of the nearest available location exceeds 85 degrees in Minnesota.
“These restrictions are intended to reduce the likelihood of volatility and offsite movement of over-the-top dicamba by avoiding application on days with high temperatures,” the EPA said in its ruling. “Among other requirements, the product registrants must add the amended labeling to their training and educational materials and disseminate this information to pesticide authorities and agricultural extension services to assist users in their local area.”
In 2021, the EPA received about 3,500 dicamba-related incident reports.
Of those, about 711 originated in Minnesota and 528 came from Iowa.
The industry needs to do all it can to ensure dicamba remains available in a farmer’s toolbox.
“We want to keep the chemical because it is a great chemical,” Bob Worth, chair of the Minnesota Dicamba Task Force, told WNAX Radio. “We just have to make sure it doesn’t affect somebody that doesn’t have that dicamba trait in their soybeans.”