Minnesota becomes the latest state to restrict dicamba use

Dec 15, 2017

Missouri, North Dakota and Tennessee already have restrictions in place

By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com

Farmers in another U.S. state will be limited in their use of a popular soybean weed management tool.

Minnesota is the latest state to announce dicamba restrictions. North Dakota, Missouri, and Tennessee have already announced restrictions, while Arkansas has implemented a temporary ban on dicamba sales.

Beginning next year, Minnesota farmers will be prohibited from applying dicamba after June 20. They also can’t use dicamba if the temperature or forecasted high for the day is above 85 F.

These restrictions are intended to prevent potential drift damage to other crops.

More than 250 complaints about dicamba drift have come in from 49 counties in the state, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture says.

And about 265,000 acres of farmland in the state have been impacted by dicamba drift, according to the University of Minnesota.

Producers need dicamba as part of their weed management toolboxes, but they need to use their tools responsibly, according to Michael Petefish, president of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association.

“We need dicamba,” he said in a statement on Tuesday. “We also need these new restrictions. Producers need to have the ability to adapt this product to their operations, and these additional guidelines will allow users to do just that in a safe and environmentally sound manner.”

But dicamba manufacturers don’t believe Minnesota’s restrictions will help farmers.

“There’s no scientific reason to have a cut-off date or a temperature limit. There is no testing that supports it,” Scott Partridge, vice president of global strategy with Monsanto, told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

It could be frustrating for farmers who find weed pressure in their fields after the June 20 cut-off, he added.

Dicamba rules in other states

State	Restrictions
North Dakota	No dicamba applications may be made after June 30 or after R1 growth phase, whichever comes first. Dicamba cannot be used if air temperature is over 85 F. Dicamba applications may be made from one hour after sunrise to one hour before sunset. Applicators must maintain a speed of 12 miles per hour or less. Applications must be made with a minimum of 15 gallons of spray solution per acre. No applications may be made using 80-degree or less spray nozzles.
Missouri	Applications must be made by a licensed applicator and this individual must complete a “Dicamba Notice of Application” form prior to the application. Dicamba can’t be applied before 9:00 a.m. and after 3:00 p.m. Dicamba can’t be applied if wind speeds are greater than 10 mph. Applicators must record wind speed and direction for each field. Applicators must keep a record of each dicamba use.
Tennessee	Dicamba can only be applied by a certified applicator. Dicamba may only be applied between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Applying dicamba over the top of cotton after first bloom is prohibited.

Video: 2025 USDA December Crop Report a “Dud” + Trump $12 Billion U.S. Farm Aid

The USDA December crop report was friendly corn, neutral soybeans and bearish wheat. The USDA did surprise and increase the 25/26 U.S. corn export forecast to a new record high at 3.2 billion bushels now up 12% vs. last year vs. prior at +9% vs. the export pace to date up 30% the best in 10 years even higher than 20/21! The USDA left the 25/26 U.S. soybean export pace unchanged at 1.635 billion bushels. Higher global wheat supplies will remain a weight and headwind for wheat into year end and start of 2026.
Mexico is now the #1 buyer of U.S. corn, soybeans (usually China), wheat and pork!
USDA also released its long-term early projections but expect more changes by February of 2026.
Trump announces a $12 billion U.S. farmer aid package to be paid out by February 28, 2026. This helps no one but the ag banks, farm equipment companies, seed and fertilizer companies. It does prevent more farmer bushels from being sold near-term but is not bullish grain prices long-term. The Trump administration should focus on increasing U.S. domestic demand and propping up grain futures so farmers can cover their higher costs, up since COVID of 2020.
The China U.S. soybean purchase tracker now stands at 4.521 mmt or 38% of the 12 mmt promised by China at year end or is it end of February or the growing season? Why the discrepancy vs. the fact sheet. The optics are poor for the Trump administration.
After surging to contract highs U.S. natural gas futures plunged over 30+% in just 5-trading days!
Silver traded to new record highs as the debasement and de dollarization trade continued but technicals remain overbought near-term.
Soybean futures remained in correction mode after the funds went record long futures on Nov. 19 +233,000 contracts but the $10.80 support should hold into year end when the fund profit taking/liquidation comes to an end from the year end, end of month and end of quarter selling.
The U.S. Fed cut interest rates for the 3rd time by 25 basis points to a range of 3.50 – 3.75% and they will only cut one more time in 2026 and once in 20267/ but when Powell is gone next April the replacement is willing to cut more aggressively and we could see U.S. interest rates fall to 2.0% very bullish for ag and stocks as it could reignite inflation into 2027.
After 2 months of being drier than normal in Brazil the rains have finally arrived for the 1st half of December, and a record crop is still in the cards but if this pattern continues and verifies it could start to delay the harvest. Argentina after being too wet has turned dry but they are too small, compared top Brazil in the grand picture.
The Canadian dollar surged to $0.73 after better-than-expected employment data with 180,000 new jobs in the past 3-months and 3rd quarter GDP at +2.6% but this could be short-lived.
The latest CFTC report as of 11-19-2025 reported a record long fund position in soybeans at +233,000 contracts when 2026 March soybean futures peaked on 11-19-25 at $11.724/bu.