TX Auxin Training Gets Reciprocal Okay from OK, NM

By Jim Steadman|February 15, 2018

The Texas Department of Agriculture approved auxin-specific herbicide training – developed by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Allied Industry – has received reciprocal approval by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture.

According to a post by Texas AgriLife Extension weed specialists Scott Nolte and Mark Marocha in a recent Texas Row Crops Newsletter, these approvals will allow producers that operate in those multiple states to attend one training that will satisfy the regulatory requirements of the new technologies.

The Texas training program was developed based on a U.S. EPA mandate included as part of the label revisions for the three dicamba products (Engenia, FeXapan and XtendiMax) approved for use on dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybean varieties in 2018. That mandate stated that anyone (applicators and operators) making applications of one of these three dicamba products must receive auxin-specific training prior to applying the herbicides.

Currently, Arkansas and Louisiana do not have a reciprocal agreement with Texas, and additional training and/or certifications are required for applicators in those states.

AgriLife Extension has conducted numerous auxin trainings since December, and applicators in need of training can visit AgriLife.org/aes for a list of upcoming training opportunities.