Dicamba registrants have reached an agreement with the EPA to label changes designed to minimize drift to damage from dicamba to nearby crops.

Monsanto, BASF and DuPont have agreed to label changes in time for use on 2018 product and crops. They have voluntarily agreed to label changes that impose additional requirements for "over the top" use of these products next year, including:

  • Classifying products as "restricted use," permitting only certified applicators with special training, and those under their supervision, to apply them; dicamba-specific training for all certified applicators to reinforce proper use;
  • Requiring farmers to maintain specific records regarding the use of these products to improve compliance with label restrictions;
  • Limiting applications to when maximum wind speeds are below 10 mph (from 15 mph) to reduce potential spray drift;
  • Reducing the times during the day when applications can occur;
  • Including tank clean-out language to prevent cross contamination; and
  • Enhancing susceptible crop language and record keeping with sensitive crop registries to increase awareness of risk to especially sensitive crops nearby.

The EPA says it worked cooperatively with states, land-grant universities, and the pesticide registrants to examine the underlying causes of recent crop damage in the Midwest and Southeast.

Registrants have agreed to a process to get the revised labels into the hands of farmers in time for the 2018 use season. EPA will monitor the success of these changes to help them evaluate the continued use of dicamba beyond the 2018 growing season. When EPA registered these products, it set the registrations to expire in 2 years to allow EPA to change the registration, if necessary. Go to this link and this EPA webpage for more information.