The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has allowed farmers in the US to use their stocks of three banned herbicides until the end of next month. A federal court had last week banned the sale and use of the three dicamba registrations Xtendimax, Engenia, and FeXapan.
Following complaints from consumer organizations and organic farmers, the court concluded that some dicamba risks had not been examined at all during the EPA assessments. In addition to Bayer, dicamba is also produced by BASF and the American competitor Corteva. Their products are also affected by the court ruling.
Bayer stated it disagrees with the ruling and is considering further steps. The company is currently working to obtain new EPA approval for the 2021 planting season.
The US Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of the herbicide in 2018 for a period of two years. This was challenged by several environmental groups. The three herbicides are sprayed on genetically modified soybeans and cotton. It is known that these three products drift away after spraying, damaging nearby crops that are not resistant to the chemical.
The court’s ban caused confusion in agriculture as farmers were finalizing their planting. The United States is the second-largest exporter of soybeans, and various states applied different interpretations, threatening unfair competition.
The EPA subsequently stated that farmers have until July 31 to use dicamba-based herbicide stocks they had in inventory as of the court ruling date, June 3.
Several agricultural states in the US Midwest said they would allow dicamba spraying following the court decision while awaiting further EPA guidance. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the EPA had pushed for an immediate stop to the use of dicamba products.
According to producer Bayer, approximately 60% of the US soybean crop is expected to be planted this year with Bayer’s dicamba-resistant Xtend soybeans. These must be sprayed to control weeds that have developed tolerance to another chemical, glyphosate.