Another Dicambia Label Depends On Farmers

The three judge panel in California vacating the label for the dicambia products Engenia, XtendiMax and FeXapan was totally unexpected. It caused a lot of scrambling at the EPA and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture trying to figure out how to deal with it while applying Federal and State laws. It sure was nice to see the Minnesota Department of Agriculture news release saying we could use those dicambia products yet this year following the vacated label.

Bob Worth who was on the Minnesota Soybean Growers Dicambia Drift Task Force said this must be appealed in Federal Court before the EPA could re-register those dicambia products. Remember, the label was only temporary and was going to expired this December. We have learned a lot about limiting dicambia off target movement in a couple years!

That first year there were hundreds of drift or off target complaints that were investigated by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Bob and the Minnesota Soybean Growers Dicambia Drift Task Force worked with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, University of Minnesota weed Scientists and Chemical Companies developing changes to the use of dicambia.

That is where the June 20 application cut-off came from along with other requirements like daily high temperatures restrictions. The result was last summer there were only a handful of drift or off target complaints that the Minnesota Department of Agriculture investigated.

If farmers show that this summer, the second in a row, we can properly manage dicambia off target  movement, I would think it would help get another label for those dicambia herbicides! If there are a lot of drift complaints this summer dicambia may be off the market permanently. Always Read and Follow Label Directions!