On the same day EPA approved the new Dow herbicide, USDA listed four steps it will take in response to the spread of herbicide resistant weeds. They include financial assistance though the cost-sharing Environmental Quality Incentives Program for use of integrated pest management practices to control weeds, tests of innovative conservation systems to foil resistant weeds, and drafting of “best management practices” for biotech crops.
Herbicides are the primary method for weed control with the adoption of low- and no-till farming to reduce soil erosion. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said USDA and EPA “must continue to identify ways to encourage producers to adopt diverse tactics for weed management in addition to herbicide control.”