America’s Soy Farmers Paralyzed by Uncertainty Over Weed Killer
- EPA mulling of dicamba’s future causes angst for U.S. industry
- Crop-chemical firms ready alternatives if herbicide banned
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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A newly banned herbicide has become a crux for the world’s second-largest soybean producer as U.S. farmers struggle with not knowing if they’ll regain access to the long-trusted weed killer for next year’s crop.
The U.S. government banned dicamba earlier this year, though there are prospects of a reprieve. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce this month if dicamba-based products can be used next planting season, Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in an Oct. 1 webinar with the Minnesota Farm Bureau. Those products include soybean seeds resistant to the weed killer and the herbicide itself, under brands including BASF SE’s Engenia and Bayer AG’s Xtend.