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More questions than answers on dicamba

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is gathering information and collaborating with stakeholders to assess a path forward with dicamba.

Susan Stokes, assistant commissioner with MDA, says 220 official drift complaints have been filed in Minnesota.

“To give you an idea, in a typical summer we get 150 total complaints, so it’s a very serious situation.  What we’re trying to do is get as much information as we can about (dicamba), so we can figure out what to do for next season.  We do not want to have a repeat of this, but we also don’t want to take this tool out of a farmer’s toolbox.”

The Department of Ag is coordinating with the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association–which recently launched a dicamba task force—as well as other states and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Stokes tells Brownfield the EPA is seeking input rather than offering guidance at this point.

“It is widespread, and the other states are reporting what they’re experiencing.  It doesn’t seem like it’s a typical drift situation, and we just need to understand what’s happening.  Is it purely volatilization?  Is there contamination in tanks?  Are there restrictions we can impose that would minimize the damage?”

Stokes says MDA would like to make a decision on whether to register dicamba herbicides for 2018 soon, as farmers start making plans for next year.

Recommendations out of Arkansas and Missouri are to use the products for early season burndown only.