A court ruling vacating the registrations of three dicamba herbicides, Bayer’s Xtendimax, BASF’s Engenia and Corteva’s FeXapan, comes at a hard time for producers and reactions are varying across the country.
The Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association is instructing Illinois farmers to immediately stop the use and distribution of the three dicamba products.
IFCA President Jean Payne tells Brownfield the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s legal counsel has looked through the U.S. 9th Circuit Court ruling on dicamba and believe it clearly calls for these measures applying to Xtendimax, Engenia, and FeXapan.
“This is a regulatory system that has been set up for decades to ensure food safety and public trust in how we use pesticides. So, I know people are frustrated with this, but ultimately these products can no longer legally be used on soybeans or cotton and so we really need to take that seriously.”
She asks that all members abide by the determination and help communicate the message and says the information will be shared as it is received from the department and EPA on the management of the products already in the supply chain.
Minnesota had a similar ruling.
“The three registered dicamba products, XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technolog, Engenia HerbicideDuPont FeXapan with VaporGrip Technology can no longer be used, effective immediately,” a webpage from the state agriculture department says. “This information may change based on EPA’s review of the order.”
Reaction from the ag industry has varied as well, with Bayer “strongly disagreeing” on the court’s decision. Many other ag organizations have also disagreed with the decision as it is putting producers in an extremely difficult position.