Ramifications of voided dicamba registration
On Feb. 6, 2024, a federal court in Arizona vacated registration of three dicamba products that had been approved for over-the-top application to soybeans by the US-EPA in 2020. This decision is discussed in several articles that are linked below.
Court Vacates Dicamba Registrations [Progressive Farmer].
Federal court revokes dicamba approval [FarmProgress].
#plant24 confronted by vacated dicamba ruling [FarmProgress].
Dicamba Court Order Puts Farmers in Immediate, Costly Bind [American Soybean Association].
Soy Growers Implore Administration to Help Farmers Amid Dicamba Decision [American Soybean Association].
Midsouth soybean producers are encouraged to access the content in these articles so that they are up-to-date on what this decision means and how it can potentially affect their ability to combat hard-to-control troublesome weeds in their soybean fields. They are also encouraged to stay abreast of the latest happenings regarding this decision and its future developments. Information in the following linked articles will be helpful to producers as they consider dicamba use for weed control in 2024 and beyond.
Feb. 14, 2024 Dicamba Update: In a news release from ASA titled “ASA Applauds EPA Existing Stocks Order for Dicamba Ahead of Soy Planting”, the announcement is made that the US-EPA “has declared farmers can accept ‘existing stocks’–previously registered pesticide products currently in the U.S. that were packaged, labeled, and released for shipment prior to the Feb. 6 court ruling–” of dicamba. The existing stocks order also clarified that dicamba products already in the possession of distributors, coops, and other parties for sale before the Feb. 6 date of the cancelled dicamba registration can be sold and distributed, within set guidelines specified in the order. ASA also asks for the administration’s support of an appeal of the Feb. 6 ruling.
Feb. 15, 2024 Dicamba Update: On Feb. 14, 2024, the US-EPA issued an Existing Stocks Order for Dicamba Products Previously Registered for Over-the-Top Use on Dicamba-Tolerant Cotton and Soybeans, which contains the pertinent provisions for the disposition of any existing stocks of formerly registered dicamba products. Of special importance is the information in Table 1 of the above order, which contains the end dates for sale and distribution of existing stocks of dicamba products as well as the end dates for the use of those existing stocks in U.S. states. The American Soybean Association provides a concise summary of the above order and the events that led to its provisions in their Feb. 15, 2024 eBean newsletter.
Mar. 5, 2024 Dicamba Update: In a Mar. 4, 2024 article titled “Where dicamba fits in 2024 and beyond” by Tom Bechman, Dr. Bill Johnson of Purdue Univ. provides an update on potential dicamba usage in the 2024 soybean crop, and how the vacated registration for dicamba products may or may not effect a switch to alternative weed control technologies. Dr. Johnson also provides his insight into the future use of dicamba, and how this potential future use may be tempered by additional restrictions.
Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Mar. 2024, larryh91746@gmail.com