EPA greenlights three types of dicamba herbicide through 2025, limits states' ability to further restrict its use

The Environmental Protection Agency has authorized three formulations of the herbicide dicamaba for over-the-top use for five years, running through 2025. On a Tuesday evening press call, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler "stated that EPA has granted five-year registrations to two canceled dicamba herbicides -- XtendiMax and Engenia -- as well as a re-registered dicamba herbicide, Tavium," Emily Unglesbee reports for DTN/The Progressive Farmer. "All three now require a nationwide June 30 cutoff date for use in soybeans and a July 30 cutoff date for use in cotton, regardless of growth stage. The agency also announced it is limiting states' ability to add further restrictions to the federal labels."

In early June, a federal appeals court banned sales of dicamba-based products in the U.S. through late December, saying that the EPA did not do its due diligence when reauthorizing the controversial herbicide in 2018. That reauthorization expires Dec. 20. But soon after the court ruling, EPA told farmers they could use existing stores of dicamba through July. A federal appeals court upheld that call, but until now it was unclear whether dicamba would be legal in 2021.