Dicamba Confusion - Update!

The EPA is defending its decision to allow farmers and commercial applicators to use “existing stocks” of three Dicamba products (XtendiMax, Engenia, and FeXapan) even though it recently cancelled the registration of those herbicides.

On June 11, 2020, a group of plaintiffs sued the EPA and asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to order an immediate halt to all use of those products, arguing the EPA was violating the Ninth Circuit’s June 3, 2020 ruling. More on the June 3 ruling here. In short, the Ninth Circuit held the EPA didn’t do its job when registering these herbicides because it failed to consider all the risks of Dicamba products. After the Court issued its June 3 order, the EPA vacated the registrations on June 8, with some big exceptions.

The EPA is now defending its June 8, 2020 decision to allow existing stocks of the Dicamba products to be used through the end of July. The EPA argued that while the vacating of the registration may make it illegal to sell or distribute the products, it has no effect on the “use” of a product already purchased. The EPA asked the Court to dismiss the plaintiff’s request that the agency be held in contempt of court. Plaintiffs have two days (until June 18) to respond.

These latest events add another level of ambiguity to the already complicated picture of whether and where it is legal to use Dicamba. If you’re new to the June 2020 Dicamba drama, check out my first article on the topic over here. Progressive Farmer has been closely following the story as well, here.