Court Denies Emergency Motion to Stop Dicamba Use
(Editor’s Note: Updated to include statements from BASF and the National Cotton Council)
The story continues, as several media and industry sources report that judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied an emergency motion to immediately end over-the-top applications of dicamba and to hold EPA in contempt of court for allowing use of existing dicamba stocks through July 31.
The ruling – delivered late Friday, June 19 – is a key victory for EPA in an on-going battle that began with a June 3 Court ruling that vacated the labels for XtendiMax, Engenia and FeXapan dicamba herbicides. The EPA followed with a cancellation order on June 8 that halted sales of the products but allowed growers to use existing stocks in their possession as of June 3 on dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybeans, following the former federal labels and any state regulations that may be in place for dicamba.
In a statement from the National Cotton Council, NCC Chairman Kent Fountain said the brief cited the enormous financial damage that would be caused by the court’s original vacatur of the products’ registration and explained how modern farming works with advanced planning/purchasing and financial commitments that are closely linked from seeds and technology choices to pest control options.
“Many producers had already committed their 2020 capital and land resources to cotton production,” Fountain said, “and this season’s cotton crop was planted extensively with seed varieties dependent on access to dicamba products. Alternative weed control methods at this point in the growing season would have been very costly and far less effective, especially in combating resistant pigweed. Also, replanting with a different variety was no longer a viable option.”
Next on the Court docket are the emergency motions filed by BASF and Corteva to intervene in the June 3 ruling, seeking an opportunity to demonstrate the ruling’s significant negative impact on U.S. agriculture and their customers. The Court is allowing both companies to join Bayer in the case and has given the plaintiffs until June 23 to respond before making its ruling.
In a company statement, BASF was pleased that the Court’s decision will “permit the continued use of existing Engenia stocks to help to save this year’s crops and save farmers’ millions of dollars in their investment in our product,” and that the Court granted BASF’s emergency motion to intervene in the case vacating the three dicamba registrations.
However, the company noted, “we seek a recall and stay of the Court’s mandate until BASF has the opportunity to challenge that decision. We are committed to pursue all legal remedies available to ensure farmers have access to the safe and effective crop protection solutions they have come to rely on, including Engenia herbicide. BASF will also continue to pursue EPA re-registration of Engenia for the coming seasons.”
A pending lawsuit filed by the same plaintiffs in 2017 against Corteva’s Enlist Duo herbicide is also currently under review in the Ninth Circuit court.
GET THE NEWSLETTER TODAY!
