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Good News, Bad News: Dicamba Use Halted, Not Halted

February 22, 2024 | Source: PANNA | by Rob Faux

I am approaching the 4th anniversary of my first day at work with Pesticide Action Network and I was more than a little excited to hear that I could celebrate the end of over-the-top dicamba use on soybeans and cotton. If you don’t understand why I am anxious to celebrate, then perhaps you do not know that one of the reasons I sought an off-farm job was this herbicide’s tendency to become a vapor and drift after application. Our small-scale, diversified farm has suffered regular damage to crops every year due to this problem since 2017, making it difficult for me to rely on the farm for my income.

But, my celebration is going to have to wait. While the February 6 court decision directed that the use of dicamba be halted for over-the-top applications on soybeans and cotton, the EPA is allowing the use of existing stock of dicamba under the old use-label guidelines for the 2024 growing season.

The problem with dicamba? Volatilization.

The biggest issue with dicamba products is that they volatilize (become a vapor) after application and then drift to fields that are not populated with dicamba tolerant crops. A farmer could apply a dicamba product, following best practices to avoid immediate drift, and still be guilty of applying a chemical that can move off-target two, three and even four days after spraying.