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Minnesota farmer confident using dicamba

A south-central Minnesota farmer using dicamba as part of his weed management program in soybeans says he’s confident spray drift has not occurred.

Scott Dauk of Madison Lake tells Brownfield he went all-in this year with BASF’s Engenia herbicide because water hemp was getting out of control.

“I figured this was a good option to start with and try.  I either was in or out, so I went 100 percent dicamba (tolerant), or Xtend, soybeans.  The control has been very good with it.”

Dauk also combined three other modes of action for his pre-emergence application in hopes of staving off resistance.

He says following the label—which include sprayer boom heights within two feet of crop canopy and the use of nozzles required and provided by BASF—has prevented drift during applications.

“It looks to me like a light rain coming out of the sprayer, instead of a heavy mist.  I don’t have issues that I could see with drift, and when there’s a wind 8 to 10 miles per hour, I’m not worried about spraying.”

Dauk says he’s aware of neighboring fields with sensitive crops and avoided spraying on days where the wind was blowing in that direction. He also watched for signs of temperature inversions, saying he would stop an application if he noticed any.

As of Friday, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture has received 35 complaints of dicamba drift damage.