EPA Announces New Dicamba Registrations
Washington, D.C. – Today, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Andrew Wheeler, announced that EPA is approving new five-year registrations for over-the-top use of two dicamba products, Engenia®, XtendiMax®, and extending the registration of an additional dicamba product, Tavium®.
"Today's announcement brings clarity and confidence to Mississippi soybean and cotton producers as they make their purchasing decisions for the 2021 crop year," said Congressman Guest. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to lead the letter in support of these registrations, and I appreciate my House colleagues who joined us in our mission to support our agriculture community. I'd like to thank Administrator Wheeler and the EPA for their efforts to preserve this important herbicide for our hard-working farmers."
"With today's decision, farmers now have the certainty they need to make plans for their 2021 growing season," said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. "After reviewing substantial amounts of new information, conducting scientific assessments based on the best available science, and carefully considering input from stakeholders we have reached a resolution that is good for our farmers and our environment."
Earlier this month, Congressman Guest and Congressman Sanford Bishop (D-GA) led a bipartisan letter in support of these new registrations following a June decision by the Ninth Circuit Court to vacate previous registrations of dicamba products. Congressman Guest announced the letter in a press release on October 1st.
"I am pleased to join my colleagues in this bipartisan effort. We are working in support of American farmers and trying to bring confidence and clarity to our producers before the upcoming crop year," Congressman Guest said in the October 1st press release. "Last year's court decision put in jeopardy millions of acres of crops across our country, and especially Mississippi. As our farmers continue to battle a pandemic, natural disasters, and fluctuating markets, it is critical they have the tools necessary to a successful growing season."
The following information offers additional background on dicamba products and was provided in a press release from the EPA:
"The United States is the world's leading soybean producer and second-leading soybean exporter and also serves as the world's third-largest cotton producer and the leading cotton exporter. Today, there are limited cost-effective options to control herbicide-resistant weeds affecting these commodities. In 2018, approximately 41 percent of U.S. soybean acreage was planted with dicamba-tolerant (DT) seed and almost 70 percent of U.S. cotton acreage was planted with DT seed in 2019. Relative to alternative herbicide programs, postemergence dicamba may reduce weed control costs for some growers, possibly by as much as $10 per acre, or over five percent of net operating revenue, not accounting for all measures growers will have to take to control off-field movement of dicamba.
Following reports of damage resulting from the off-site movement of dicamba, EPA amended the dicamba registration labels in 2017 and in 2018. In June 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated the registrations for three dicamba products: XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology, Engenia Herbicide, and DuPont FeXapan Herbicide. As a result of the Court's decision, EPA issued cancellation orders outlining limited circumstances under which existing stocks of the three affected products could be distributed and used until July 31, 2020."
The EPA's full press release can be found here.
The letter to Administrator Wheeler led by Congressman Guest and Congressman Bishop can be found here.
Congressman Guest's previous press release on the subject can be found here.
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