In the last week, there’s been lots of confusion on the use of dicamba products. “It was banned, then it wasn’t and then, it was banned again,” said Jason Hanson, owner and crop consultant, Rock and Roll Agronomy. “It’s been a mess to follow.” The week of June 8, the EPA said farmers can use XtendiMax, Engenia and FeXapan herbicides if they already have the product in possession or use a custom applicator. “In talking to manufacturers, there’s nothing being shipped to anyone at the distributor level. Some of them took positions they weren’t going to do anything and then, the 24c Special Local Needs label came. They were cautious and got some sold,” said Hanson. “At the retail level, you can sell it as a custom application. A farmer can use the product if it’s in their possession or if they want to get it custom applied.” In the field, Hanson said some farmers may not be able to use the product, because they don’t want to mess with it or they can’t get the product. “This threw a big monkey wrench into everything. Now, farmers have to go to the next plan. There will be a lot of pressure on Tavium and other products, but we’ve made it through once. We’ll make it through again I guess.”
