By Julie Tomascik
Editor
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted an existing stocks order to allow farmers to use formerly registered dicamba formulations for over-the-top use on dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybeans for the 2024 growing season.
The decision comes after more than a week of waiting following a federal court’s ruling to vacate the 2020 registrations for three dicamba products—XtendiMax, Engenia and Tavium.
Navigating the legal weeds of the federal court’s decision led to much confusion regarding products already purchased and distributed, and numerous farm groups, including Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) and American Farm Bureau Federation, requested guidance and action from EPA.
The existing stocks order allows farmers to have access to the XtendiMax, Engenia and Tavium herbicides in the U.S. that were packaged, labeled and released for shipment prior to Feb. 6.
Dicamba product already in the possession of distributors and other parties for sale before that date can still be sold and distributed, within set guidelines outlined in the order.
“This order provides some level of certainty for cotton and soybean farmers,” Brant Wilbourn, TFB associate director of Commodity and Regulatory Activities, said. “This was extremely important for Texas farmers who have already made planting decisions with dicamba-tolerant crop systems in place for the season and are not able to pivot to another herbicide-tolerant seed and herbicide system.”
The order outlines the sale and distribution end dates for existing dicamba stocks. For Texas, the end date for sale and distribution is May 31 for soybeans and June 30 for cotton.
The application cutoff dates remain the same as prior to the order—June 30 for soybeans and July 30 for cotton.
“Farmers are committed to the safe use of all crop protection tools, and we appreciate EPA’s quick action to meet the needs of Texas and U.S. farmers,” Wilbourn said.
Farm groups noted that dicamba is the only post-emergent herbicide that works on weeds for many farmers, and dicamba-tolerant varieties account for over 75% of U.S. cotton acres and 45% of soybean acres.
EPA said it was “appropriate to issue an existing stocks order because, as described in numerous stakeholder letters received by the agency from across the country, growers have purchased dicamba-tolerant seed in the period between the completion of briefing in the District of Arizona case and the issuance of the court’s order and judgment vacating these dicamba registrations, therefore making them reliant on the availability of dicamba for over-the-top use.”
EPA has not announced if it will appeal the federal ruling.
Leave A Comment