Indiana Restricts Dicamba Further

The major dicamba products labeled for over-the-top use in soybeans and cotton will be restricted to an earlier cutoff date of June 20, 2020, in Indiana. This includes Engenia, FeXapan, Tavium and XtendiMax herbicides.

Dicamba is approved through 2020. The future beyond that point depends heavily on feedback from this year and next. Manufacturers have been sending any complaints they receive to the respective state agency, which is keeping a tally of dicamba-related herbicide complaints.

The state regulating bodies came to this decision following research on the products and their use in ag. One such study found the number of dicamba-related complaints in Indiana jumped from a maximum of 13 in up to 2016 to an annual average of 153 from 2017 to 2019.

“This unprecedented triple-digit increase in the number of off-target movement complaints and investigations appears to continue to be trending upward each year since the formal introduction of these products in 2017,” states the report. In 2019 alone, there were 178 complaints related to dicamba.

Check out frequently asked questions about dicamba for Indiana producers here.

What happens when complaints are filed?

If you’re one of the thousands of farmers who filed complaints with state agencies you might wonder what that means for you. It’s a lengthy process that’s exacerbated by a large number of complaints and a process that might not have the outcome you expect.

For farmers who have made complaints, there is additional legwork to recover damages beyond filing a report with the state. Learn more about the process, and how to recover financial damage, here.