WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency has issued an existing stocks order for three dicamba products that were taken off the market earlier this month by a federal court in Arizona.
The order issued on Wednesday, Feb. 14, will allow people who already purchased Bayer Xtendimax, BASF Engenia and Syngenta Tavium to use the existing stocks, so long as they follow the labels that were in place prior to the order of the Feb. 6, 2024, ruling by the U.S. District Court for Arizona , which halted registrations for the three products.
The court found that the EPA violated Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodentcide Act notice and comment mandates for issuing "new use" pesticide registration for over-the-top dicamba for dicamba tolerant soybean and cotton. The National Family Farm Coalition, Pesticide Action Network, Center for Food Safety and the Center for Biological Diversity were the plaintiffs in the case against the EPA.
In the Feb. 14 order, the EPA explained that use of existing stocks of the products will help ensure that products not meant for over-the-top use in soybeans and cotton — and thus more volatile — aren't used improperly and that use of the existing stocks must follow the labels previously in place.
"As described further below, most growers have already placed orders for dicamba-tolerant seed for the 2024 growing season and, given the timing of the vacatur of these registrations, are not able to pivot to another herbicide-tolerant seed and herbicide system," the order said. "Thus, to help ensure that growers will not apply other still registered dicamba products not formulated for over-the-top use to the dicamba-tolerant seed they have already purchased, it is imperative that EPA issue this order allowing limited sale and distribution of the formerly registered dicamba products."
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In the order, the EPA also noted that finding and disposing all products already on the market would be difficult.
"The risks and costs of alternative disposition of the stocks would be substantial. As discussed above, millions of gallons of the formerly registered dicamba products have already entered the channels of trade. Much of this volume is no longer in the possession or the registrants, but rather is in the hands of retailers and other distributors, with some of the product already in the hands of growers," the EPA said.
"Existing stocks" refers to stocks of previously registered pesticides that already were in the U.S. and were packaged, labeled and released for shipment prior to Feb. 6, when the federal court vacated the registrations.
The products can be sold and used by different dates depending on the state, as follows:
- Iowa, Illinois and Indiana: Sales through May 13; use through June 12 or V4 growth stage in soybeans or first square growth stage in cotton, whichever comes first.
- Minnesota: Sales south of Interstate 94 through May 13 and north of I-94 through May 31; use south of I-94 through June 12 and use north of I-94 through June 30.
- South Dakota: Sales through May 21; use through June 20.
- Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida (excluding Palm Beach County), Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Caroline, Tennesse (excluding Wilson County), Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin: Sales for soybeans through May 31 and sales for cotton through June 30; use on soybeans through June 30 and use on cotton through July 30.
The EPA estimates that about 65 million acres — two-thirds of soybeans and three-fourths of cotton — are dicamba-resistant, with about half of those acres are sprayed with dicamba, a news release from the Center for Biological Diversity said.
Many in agriculture, including soybean and cotton groups, had urged an existing stocks order because of the issues addressed by EPA on Wednesday.
“As co-regulatory partners with EPA committed to preserving environmental stewardship, protecting the rural economy and securing a healthy food supply chain, NASDA commends EPA on issuing an existing stocks order for dicamba that is inclusive of products that are in the possession of growers or in the channels of trade. Today’s action will prevent severe detrimental impacts to our food, fuel and fiber availability.” said National Association of State Departments of Agriculture CEO Ted McKinney in a statement.
“We are pleased with the action from the EPA,” North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said in a statement. “It provides certainty to the producers who had already made planting decisions for 2024.”
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