EPA approves five-year registration for two dicamba products

Oct 30, 2020

This decision provides certainty for the 2021 growing season, the agency said

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

U.S. cash crop producers will be able to use important crop protection products for the 2021 growing season.

On Oct. 27, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved new five-year registrations for two over-the-top dicamba products – XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology and Engenia Herbicide.

In addition, the EPA extended the registration for Tavium Plus VaporGrip Technology.

These registrations are only for use on dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybeans. They will expire in 2025.

“With today’s decision, farmers now have the certainty they need to make plans for their 2021 growing season,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. “After reviewing substantial amounts of new information, conducting scientific assessments based on the best available science, and carefully considering input from stakeholders, we have reached a resolution that is good for our farmers and our environment.”

With the EPA decision come some additional rules farmers must follow when applying dicamba.

Some of the new rules require that producers must

tank mix an approved volatility reduction agent with dicamba products
maintain a downwind buffer of 240 feet between the last treated row and the downwind field edge
not apply dicamba on soybeans after June 30 or up to R1, whichever comes first

It’s important to note Engenia doesn’t have the R1 cutoff.

Industry groups welcomed the EPA’s decision.

“We rely in great part on EPA support for the continued success of our industry, from measures encouraging biodiesel market expansion to these types of decisions regarding safe and effective use of crop protection tools,” Bill Gordon, president of the American Soybean Association, said in a statement. “We thank EPA today for the many steps and time invested in coming to this decision to reregister a product relied upon by many soy growers.”

Lawmakers did too.

“I appreciate (EPA Administrator Wheeler’s) announcement to provide certainty to ag producers and others; the flexibilities provided for growers by states will be important as producers prepare to use dicamba for the 2021 planting and growing season,” said Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate ag committee.

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.