North Dakota announces restriction on the use of Dicamba

wakeupnd (68)in #health • 6 years ago

The North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) has developed 2018 North Dakota-specific protocols for in-crop use of Dicamba on soybeans. The affected formulations are XtendiMax by Monsanto; Engenia by BASF; and FeXapan by DuPont.

No applications may be made after June 30 or after the first bloom (R1 growth phase), whichever comes first.

No applications may be made if air temperature of the field at the time of application is over 85 degrees Fahrenheit or if the forecasted National Weather Service high temperature for the day exceeds 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

Applications of the product may only be made from one hour after sunrise to one hour before sunset.

“As a best management practice, farmers should strongly consider utilizing pre-emergence weed management strategies,” Goehring said. “Relying solely on post-emergence applications of Dicamba or any herbicide for weed control should be avoided.”

I'm no expert on this subject but it sounds like Dicamba is very volatile compound in the heat with lots of risk to other crops in the area. I think the state will have a hard time enforcing these new rules and if they believe the pesticide is that dangerous then it should just be outright banned for sale in the state rather than imposing a bunch of rules on it that can't be enforced.

I also read another article that Monsanto is offering a 50% discount to farmers that buy Dicamba next year which sounds to me like they are going to have a hard time selling the product. I hope no one buys the damn stuff and Monsanto takes a huge loss next year because they deserve it for selling such a dangerous product.