Plant Board sets dicamba meeting

The state Plant Board will seek to clarify its 2019 regulations on using dicamba at 1 p.m. Friday, after declining a member’s request to do just that about a week ago.

The new regulations prohibit the use of the herbicide on dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton after May 25.

But some Plant Board members — and farmers — seek clarity on several issues, including whether older generic formulations of dicamba can be used deeper into the season or even sprayed by air. The board adopted the cutoff date and other restrictions Feb. 20 after a public hearing and specially called board meeting criticized by some as chaotic.

Terry Fuller, a Plant Board member from Phillips County, asked the board last week to schedule a special meeting to consider clarifications. Fuller’s motion was defeated 13-2.

Greg Hay of Conway, the board’s chairman, said Monday he called for the special meeting and said its sole purpose was to better define dicamba’s use during “burndown,” or when farmers clear weeds just prior to planting. That issue, he said, was overlooked Feb. 20.

The staff of the Plant Board and its umbrella agency, the Arkansas Agriculture Department, sought to draw up a list of “questions and answers” to post on its website for farmers and applicators. The list was posted for a while on Friday then taken down because of a lack of clarity, a spokesman for the department said Monday.