NCC: Dicamba Availability Critical to Cotton Production Stability
June 15, 2020 In a statement issued June 10, the National Cotton Council (NCC) expressed gratitude for EPA’s quick action enabling cotton producers to use existing stocks of three dicamba formulations this season following the recent court decision to vacate the products’ registrations.
The EPA’s cancellation order issued on June 8 – and further noted in the agency’s press statement – allows the distribution or sale by commercial applicators of existing stocks in hand of XtendiMax, Engenia and FeXapan that were already in the commercial applicator’s possession as of June 3. The cancellation order prohibits all other sale or distribution of existing stocks except to facilitate return to the manufacturer or for proper disposal.
In a subsequent clarification, EPA stated that it “is permissible for a certified applicator (including a farmer who is a certified applicator) personally to retrieve or pick up XtendiMax, Engenia or FeXapan that is temporarily stored by a retailer, distributor or cooperative for use consistent with the requirements of the label, if the certified applicator (including a farmer who is a certified applicator) purchased the product on or before June 3.”
The cancellation order was issued in light of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacatur of the products’ registrations on June 3.
NCC President/CEO Gary Adams said EPA’s order to permit use of these dicamba formulations will be a tremendous help to U.S. cotton producers’ weed control efforts. He said the majority of cotton acres are planted to varieties that are tolerant to over-the-top applications of these herbicides, which are vital for controlling pigweed and other weeds that have demonstrated resistance to other herbicides.
Prior to EPA’s order, Adams had conveyed to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler the critical need for access to the dicamba herbicides.
“With crops having already emerged along with the emergence of multiple weed species, timely herbicide applications would have been seriously jeopardized,” Adams stated in his letter. “Producers also were facing additional financial costs and uncertainty in terms of implementing a different weed management plan.”
Prior to EPA’s cancellation order, the NCC advised the agency that research conducted prior to availability of dicamba-tolerant varieties reported a minimum 50% yield loss in fields with resistant pigweed. The NCC also provided EPA with a preliminary analysis that estimates a direct loss of at least $400 million in U.S. cotton production value in 2020 without access to the three dicamba herbicides.
“The economic damage that would result from not being able to use these dicamba herbicides would exacerbate an already tenuous economic situation for cotton farmers who are already facing depressed market prices due to ongoing trade tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Adams.
Going forward, the NCC will work with EPA on a new registration for 2021 and beyond for these important herbicides so that cotton producers can rely on these necessary weed control technologies.
Based on information provided by the National Cotton Council
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