Weeds
They creep, they crawl, they vine, they grow more than 15’ tall! Weeds are a nemesis many farmers know all-too-well, but what is the future of this pest? What is the future of weed control, including herbicides?
“The level of infestation in any given field ranges from a small pocket where a mother plant went to seed in 2019, to an area covering several acres in a field.”
While herbicide damage—really any damage—isn’t something you want to see in your growing crop, the reality is it happens. This year it seems to be popping up more than usual in soybean fields.
Wednesday Bayer reached a settlement with plaintiffs in its Roundup, glyphosate, lawsuits and litigation concerning dicamba drift and PCB water. The company agreed to a total payment of $10.1 billion to $10.9 billion
In a recent Farm Journal Pulse, with 539 responses, 36% of farmers said they were done with dicamba applications for the season. With 64% of respondents saying they still have acres to spray.
On Friday, judges in California with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a petition to halt all use of Engenia, FeXapan and XtendiMax dicamba herbicides.
“Petitioners’ motion to ‘Enforce this Court’s Vacatur and to Hold EPA in Contempt,’ is a thinly-veiled attempt to revive arguments the court already rejected or declined to reach. It should be denied.”
Plaintiffs in the case that lead to the products’ vacatur say EPA is wrong and that the courts should grant an emergency motion to enforce the vacatur and hold EPA in contempt for their actions.
BASF’s LibertyLink GT27 soybeans finally have a herbicide partner approved. Alite 27 herbicide received EPA registration and can be used in select counties.
After three weeks of argument, a seven person jury in Cape Girardeau, Mo., is deliberating whether Monsanto and BASF are responsible for damages on a peach orchard in southeast Missouri.
With stakes in the fight against resistant weeds at an all-time high, Bayer is adding a new tool to farmers’ toolboxes in coming years. The company says it will introduce a new herbicide mode of action.
The trial is at the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Missouri Southeastern Division and centers on whether damage to a peach farm is from dicamba drift or natural causes including a spreading soil fungus.
As Bayer continues its mitigation to reach a settlement, Dow Jones is reporting the company could settle its glyphosate (Roundup) legal cases for a sum around $10 billion.
Joining the fight against these foes is FMC’s Authority Edge pre-plant, pre-emergent herbicide for use in soybeans, sunflowers and dry shelled peas.
If you have yield or monetary damages you want covered by the applicator at fault, you have to take the battle to court or work out a recovery payment with the applicator yourself.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) will provide additional label restrictions for dicamba in 2020—these are restrictions in addition to the federal EPA label.
Many gardens are thriving with all the rain, which prompted John Phipps to give a much needed reminder this summer as fields are sprayed for weeds.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed the discovery of unapproved genetically modified wheat plants containing a trait developed by Monsanto in southern Alberta.