Farmers in Arkansas could be prohibited from using dicamba in 2018

Sep 26, 2017

The Arkansas State Plant Board recently proposed a ban on the herbicide

By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com

If a proposed motion passes through Arkansas’s legislative branch, farmers in the state will have one less tool to use in their weed management programs.

On Sept. 21, the Arkansas State Plant Board tabled a ban on dicamba that would extend from April 16 to October 31 each year.

The reason for the proposed ban stems back to earlier in the summer when some farmers noticed “cupping in nearby soybean fields, which could be attributable to dicamba,” Robb Fraley, chief technology officer with Monsanto, wrote in an open letter on Aug. 2.

There have been 969 alleged dicamaba misuse complaints in Arkansas as of Sept. 21, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

And Soybean and cotton farmers in the northeastern parts of the state have been the most impacted by dicamba drift, including 100 acres of research plots, according to the University of Arkansas.

Soybean producers understand they need to be proactive to ensure the drift issues taken seriously and that producers still have dicamba available to them.

“We are committed to establishing both a cause and a path forward on the dicamba issue, including what actions need to be taken to assure that soybean farmers can use the product safely without damaging their own or their neighbours’ crops,” American Soybean Association president Ron Moore said in a Sept. 25 statement. “It is absolutely true that farmers need and want new technologies to help fight resistant weeds.”

Farmers and other Arkansas residents will have an opportunity to weigh in on the potential ban.

There is currently a 30-day public comment period, and a public hearing will be held on Nov. 8.

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