Farmers request dicamba window
About 250 farmers and farming entities have asked the state Plant Board to lift its ban on dicamba and let farmers use the herbicide until June 25.
The maneuver, filed Tuesday and officially called a petition for rulemaking, asked the Plant Board for a hearing within 10 days.
The farmers, some of whom joined in other legal efforts in mid-April to have circuit judges lift the ban, asked to be allowed to use any of the three newer formulations of dicamba produced by Monsanto, DuPont and BASF. Of the three, and until this year’s ban on in-crop use of dicamba, only BASF’s Engenia was allowed in Arkansas.
Three circuit judges issued temporary restraining orders against the ban, all since placed on hold by the Arkansas Supreme Court.
“The current growing season has been one of extremely high rainfall during the typical planting window, which caused a delay in the planting of soybeans,” the farmers’ lawyers, Kyle Stoner of Helena and David Burnett of Osceola, wrote in
the petition. The lack of rainfall after planting began hindered the effectiveness of other herbicides, they said.
“A June 25th cutoff date offers protection for farmers concerned with off-target dicamba injury while still allowing producers a limited opportunity to use the latest and most effective technology to battle pigweed competition,” according to the farmers’ petition.
The Plant Board adopted the April 16-Oct. 31 ban after receiving nearly 1,000 complaints
of dicamba damage last year, primarily to soybeans not tolerant of the herbicide. The ban, according to Plant Board members who voted for it, also was implemented, in part, to protect backyard gardens, ornamentals and vegetables, fruit and other crops susceptible to the herbicide.
Since the ban went into effect, two of its supporters on the board have been replaced by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Hutchinson chose not to reappoint Larry Jayroe of Forrest City and Danny Finch of Jonesboro about 10 days after the dicamba ban took effect. Jayroe and Finch were among
10 members who voted for the ban. Three members opposed it. It needed nine votes for passage.
The governor said new appointees would bring a “fresh perspective that is needed from time-to-time in state government.”
State law says an agency served with such a petition must, within 30 days, deny the petition, stating in writing its reasons, or initiate rule-making proceedings to consider the change. The Plant Board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is June 21.
Before adopting the April 16 cutoff date, the board rejected
a May 25 compromise date sought through the same rule-making procedure. That request was filed Sept. 29 and rejected Oct. 19.
Monsanto developed dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybeans, along with its new dicamba, as pigweed and other weeds developed a resistance to other herbicides. Critics of the new dicamba say it is still subject to off-target movement.
Monsanto, which also sued the Plant Board, has defended its products and said most problems were caused by farmer and applicator error. The lawsuit’s dismissal in circuit court is on appeal.