Minnesota to Restrict Use of Dicamba Herbicide

 

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) today announced a state-specific restriction for the use of the herbicide dicamba in Minnesota for the 2019 growing season. Dicamba is primarily used for controlling post-emergence broadleaf weeds.

The 2019 Minnesota restriction is in addition to those established by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The affected formulations are XtendiMax by Monsanto; Engenia by BASF; and FeXapan by DuPont.

The decision follows the MDA’s ongoing investigations and informal surveys into reports of crop damage from alleged dicamba off-target movement over the past two growing seasons. In 2017, the MDA received 253 reports of alleged dicamba drift; 55 of those were formal complaints requesting investigations. Those reports impacted an estimated 265,000 acres. After state restrictions were put in place for the 2018 growing season, the number of complaints dropped dramatically this year to 53 reports, of which 29 were formal complaints. Just over 1,800 acres were impacted in 2018.