EPA released a report detailing widespread alleged dicamba damage from the 2021 season but says the agency cannot move fast enough to make regulatory changes to dicamba use by the 2022 spray season. SDSU Extension Weed Science Coordinator Paul Johnson says the guidance was welcomed ahead of the new growing season, but farmers only temporarily dodged the bullet.
In fact, Johnson says environmental groups, led by the Center for Food Safety, will likely use the complaints in their pending lawsuits. The agency said it received approximately 3,500 dicamba-related incident reports from 2021, including alleged injury to more than 1 million acres of non-dicamba-tolerant soybean acres, as well as other crops.
Johnson says in the 73-page report EPA promised to help states “restrict or narrow the over the top uses of dicamba if state officials found it necessary for XtendiMax, Engenia and Tavium.
The agency also said it would not allow states to expand the use of dicamba for next year.
Johnson says the report points out that farmers and applicators need to follow the label closely in 2022 or they may jeopardize the future use of dicamba.
