Dicamba drift complaints highest in Minnesota since 6/20 cutoff took effect

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Dicamba drift complaints highest in Minnesota since 6/20 cutoff took effect

This has been the worst year for dicamba drift complaints since Minnesota implemented a June 20th application deadline three years ago.

Joshua Stamper with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture says more than 70 complaints have been submitted.

“Right now we’re trying to work through to make sure that we can set up investigations for the complaints where they have requested an investigation. And we’ve primarily seen those complaints centered in southwest and south-central Minnesota.”

He tells Brownfield the complexity of the label coupled with the chaos stemming from early June’s dicamba court ruling likely factored into the increase in complaints.

Stamper says the 9th Circuit Court decision caused a lot of angst and anxiety among growers.

“Specifically in a period of time where from a weather and atmospheric standpoint, a lot of folks might’ve felt really compelled to make some decisions about the use of the product when maybe the weather wasn’t quite right.”

Stamper suspects IF XtendiMax, Engenia and FeXapan are re-registered by EPA, the label will more closely resemble Syngenta’s Tavium because it has an earlier plant growth-stage cutoff.

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