[Listen] Dicamba May be Bad News For Minnesota Soybean Growers

Tuesday afternoon dicamba for over the top use on soybeans received a 5-year label or registration from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). That was good news for soybean growers and bad news for waterhemp and giant ragweed. Dicamba does a very good job of controlling those two tough weeds in soybean fields. However, before dicamba can be used on soybeans in Minnesota it has to be approved by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. A State Department of Agriculture cannot be less restrictive than the Federal Label but it can be more restrictive.

Bob Worth is a soybean grower from southwestern Minnesota and a member of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Dicamba Drift Task Force. This was formed two years ago when there were a lot of issues with off-target movement or drift when dicamba was applied to soybean fields. The Task Force met Wednesday morning or maybe I should say there was a Zoom Meeting. Bob said Commissioner of Agriculture Thom Peterson was on the meeting, along with some soybean growers, chemical company scientists, members of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and others.

Click on the link above and listen to Bob talk about what was discussed at the meeting and if he had any hints from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture staff or Commissioner Thom Peterson about dicamba use in Minnesota. There was also a discussion about dicamba drift or off-target movement complaints. One year ago there were very few complaints but there were a lot of them this year!