Spurred by nearly 1,000 complaints of crop damage from dicamba this summer, the Arkansas State Plant Board has proposed a ban on using the weedkiller on cotton and soybeans from April 16 to Oct. 31 — effectively the entire growing season. The EPA also is considering restrictions on the use of dicamba, which was touted as a new tool against invasive weeds resistant to other herbicides but has also been blamed for damaging more than 3 million acres of soybeans nationwide.
The EPA approved drift-resistant formulations of dicamba in 2016 to be paired with strains of soybeans and cotton that were genetically engineered to tolerate doses of the herbicide. Monsanto, the world’s largest seed and ag chemical company, says dicamba is a success. The company, based in St. Louis, opposed the Arkansas restrictions. The plant board voted unanimously against a Monsanto petition to prevent the 2018 controls.
While some weed specialists question if dicamba is too volatile for use near plants not bred to withstand it, Monsanto says that improper application is the likely cause of the damage reported this year. More than 300 Arkansas farmers, including some whose crops were affected this year, signed a petition to the plant board to keep dicamba available for row crops throughout the growing season. Another group of growers suggested a cutoff as late as May 25.
Now that the board has voted, there will be a 30-day comment period and a public hearing on Nov. 8. “Following the pubic comment and public hearing period, the final proposed rule will be forwarded to the executive subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council for final rule approval,” said the state Agriculture Department.
Also during its quarterly meeting, the plant board approved a regulation that spells out procedures for requesting additional research and for restricting products approved by the EPA, with a public hearing expected in conjunction with the board’s Dec. 12 quarterly meeting. The board also sent a proposed regulation to the Arkansas Legislative Council that sets a $25,000 fine for the egregious misuse of dicamba. The fine is now $1,000.
The regulation backed by the plant board is in line with recommendations from a task force convened at the direction of Gov. Asa Hutchinson to find consensus on the future use of dicamba. The new low-volatility formulations approved by the EPA were supposed to resolve the problem of pesticide drift. Growers were required to leave a buffer strip between sprayed fields and fields with susceptible crops, keep sprayer booms close to the ground, and not spray on windy days.
Arkansas banned the use of dicamba in the middle of this summer under an emergency rule because of the mushrooming number of damage complaints.
On the day before the plant board meeting, Monsanto said the proposed restrictions were not justified at a time when growers need effective herbicides. “Just like the isolated issues in a few counties in Arkansas are not representative of the overall experience of growers across the country, the theories of individual researchers … are not representative of the overall science supporting new low-volatility dicamba formulations,” it said. The Arkansas plant board says it has received 969 complaints about the herbicide from 26 counties this year.
A Monsanto competitor, Dow, is expected to begin sale soon of GE crops that tolerate 2,4-D, another herbicide.