{"id":21441,"date":"2017-10-20T00:50:21","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T04:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=21441"},"modified":"2017-10-20T00:51:14","modified_gmt":"2017-10-20T04:51:14","slug":"new-epa-restrictions-herbicide-dicamba-prone-drift-criticized-not-stopping-major-crop-damage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/10\/new-epa-restrictions-herbicide-dicamba-prone-drift-criticized-not-stopping-major-crop-damage\/","title":{"rendered":"New EPA Restrictions of Herbicide Dicamba, Prone to Drift, Criticized as Not Stopping Major Crop Damage"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, October 20, 2017) Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that label changes to the herbicide dicamba would be made to try \"\"to minimize drift that has left thousands of acres of crops already damaged this season. The label changes include making dicamba \u201crestricted use,\u201d which allows only certified applicators to apply the chemical. Dicamba drift has been damaging farmers’ crops for at least two years due to the approval of new dicamba-tolerant genetically engineered (GE) crops. Advocates says that the new changes do not ensure that drift will be eliminated.<\/p>\n

According to EPA, the agency reached an agreement with the makers of dicamba, (Monsanto, BASF and DuPont) to restrict its application. This comes after\u00a0hundreds of official complaints of crop damage related to dicamba<\/a> across 17 states this year alone, leading to questions about the new formulation of the\u00a0chemical used in genetically engineered (GE) crop productioon. New GE crops<\/a> developed by Monsanto must be paired with specific formulations of dicamba, and thus led to a vast increase in dicamba use over the past couple growing seasons. Dicamba-based herbicide use has climbed dramatically as farmers have adopted, especially, Monsanto\u2019s GE soybean seeds; in the 2017 season, 20 million acres of them were planted<\/a>\u00a0with the seed.<\/p>\n

Farmers who do not use GE seed have seen dire impacts on their crops in the last two seasons, including stunted growth, and wrinkled, cup-shaped leaves. This happens in large part because the herbicide can easily volatilize after being applied and drift via the wind onto neighboring fields. In 2017, more than 3 million acres of soybeans<\/a> and other crops suffered damage from the chemical.<\/p>\n

Beyond the crop damage, pesticides are widely used without, in many cases, rigorous vetting for safety, health, and environmental impacts when used in combination with other pesticides. For example, Monsanto rolled out another iteration of its GE soybean seed in 2015, which is tolerant of both glyphosate and dicamba. Some farmers now use those seeds and \u201cstack\u201d applications of glyphosate on top of early treatment with dicamba, without adequate evaluation of synergistic impacts of the use of both compounds. This also increases the overall amount of pesticides used, and presents an opportunity for organisms that may develop resistance to both<\/em> compounds \u2014 advancing the entropic trajectory of pesticide use. Further, potential synergistic effects of the combination use of these herbicides on non-target species (including critical pollinators) is not typically evaluated by EPA. However,\u00a0a study has shown that the combination caused damage to the DNA of a toad species. <\/a><\/p>\n

Until now, many believed the dicamba drift incidents were the result of illegal formulations of the herbicide being applied to fields. But, the extent of damage now being observed contradicts this theory, raising more questions as to whether the new dicamba formulation is actually the cause of the widespread drift damage.<\/p>\n

Those who planted these GE soybeans in 2017 must use one of the newer, \u201clow-volatility\u201d versions of the herbicide and follow application directions, but the 2017 season shows that these newer formulations have not solved the drift problem.<\/a> University and agricultural extension experts report extreme damage in hundreds of fields in their territories, and say that these new formulations remain sufficiently volatile to cause such damage. Non-GE growers have become increasingly angry and vocal about the effects of the chemical, from nearby sprayed fields, on their own crops.<\/p>\n

Impacts have been the most extreme in Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, and Tennessee, where state agencies have fielded thousands of complaints.\u00a0A map of dicamba-injured soybean acreage<\/a> shows the most-affected states; several have either instituted bans or tightened restrictions on the use of dicamba. EPA is more than aware of these issues. It held at least three conference calls this past summer<\/a> with experts and state regulators on potential steps to prevent such damage in coming years. According to North Dakota State University\u2019s Andrew Thostenson, who was on one of those calls, EPA officials said clearly that such damage is unacceptable, and that there would need to be significant changes to the rules on usage of dicamba if it were to be permitted in 2018 (or beyond). The recent announcement on voluntary labeling and protocols is the EPA response.\u00a0Previously, Missouri and Arkansas have taken limited action against dicamba use<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now Monsanto and others, after proposing the label changes themselves, are voluntarily agreeing to make the changes<\/a> for all \u201cover-the-top\u201d (application to growing plants) dicamba products to be used next year. These include:<\/p>\n