Texas Cotton Farmers Adjusting In Wake Of Court Ruling On Dicamba

Cotton producers across the nation are having to rethink their management after a recent court ruling on dicamba herbicide products. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo)

AgriLife Extension outlines limited alternatives

College Station, TX (June 11, 2020) - The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service stands ready to advise producers on agronomic alternatives and options in the wake of a June 3 ruling from the U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to immediately vacate the registrations of three dicamba products, Xtendimax, FeXapan and Engenia.

For more information on the rulings, see "Three Dicamba Registrations Vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals."

Approximately 80% of the state’s cotton has been planted, and an estimated 60-80% is XtendFlex cotton – a dicamba-tolerant cotton that would have allowed the application of available registered dicamba herbicide products for weed control.

Producers are working to determine their next moves, which are somewhat complicated by the different actions being taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, and the Texas Department of Agriculture, TDA, as well as those pesticide registrants involved in the litigation.

Dan Hale, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension associate director, College Station, suggests producers comply with the EPA existing stocks provisions by making allowable applications of products according to the specific product labels.

AgriLife Extension cotton specialists and county agents also suggest producers consider selecting alternative seed options with other herbicide technologies such as 2,4-D, if they have not planted their 2020 cotton crops.

Background

In 2016, EPA granted conditional, two-year registrations for these three products. When this conditional registration was set to expire in late 2018, EPA approved another conditional two-year registration for the products, with additional restrictions on use, said Scott Nolte, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension state weed specialist.

In addition to being federally restricted-use pesticides, these dicamba products were “state-limited-use” pesticides in Texas, requiring specific applicator training annually prior to use, Nolte said. AgriLife Extension has offered this training to more than 7,000 producers in 2018, 4,500 in 2019 and 3,200 this year.

Status of the cotton crop across Texas

Reports from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agronomists from around the state provided these estimates:

  • In the South Plains, an estimated 80% of the producers use the dicamba technology and at least 80% of that seed is already in the ground, said Murilo Maeda, Ph.D., Lubbock.
  • In the Coastal Bend region, roughly 50% of the already-planted cotton crop is using those technologies, said Josh McGinty, Ph.D., Corpus Christi.
  • In West Central Texas, approximately 60% of the cotton has been planted, with primarily dryland left to plant. About 70% of the producers utilize these technologies, and have already purchased seed, fungicide and some herbicides, said Reagan Noland, Ph.D., San Angelo.
  • In the Rolling Plains region, about 80% of the producers incorporated the technology into this year’s crop, which is 70% planted, said Emi Kimura, Ph.D., Vernon.
  • In the High Plains, all cotton acres are planted, as the last date to plant was May 31, and at least 50% or more of the producers use these technologies, said Jourdan Bell, Ph.D., Amarillo.

Moving forward without the dicamba technologies

So, what are cotton producers to do now? They have a few options.

Nolte and Peter Dotray, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research weed scientist, Lubbock, suggest affected producers consider some alternative weed control options to address management problems considering this new development.

Preplant and at-plant soil residual herbicides were used by most growers, and it will be critical to use additional soil residual herbicides such as Dual, Warrant and Outlook early or mid- postemergence, regardless of what postemergence herbicide is used, they said.

“Based on the EPA’s order, we expect growers to continue to rely on dicamba until July 31,” Dotray said. “When dicamba is limited or not available, glyphosate and/or glufosinate may be used at one or both of the postemergence application timings. We may see more cultivation and hooded sprayers used to manage weeds.”

Producers can access the latest version of the AgriLife Extension cotton weed management guide for more information.

Additionally, Syngenta’s Tavium Plus Vapor Grip, which was registered separately in 2019, was not included in this litigation. Its registration, which allows application to Roundup Ready 2 Xtend Soybeans and Bollgard II XtendFlex cotton, remains in place. It has label restrictions that must be followed. In cotton, a single postemergence application may be made until the 6-leaf cotton stage or 60 days after planting, whichever comes first.

Federal and state reactions to court ruling

While the court ruling was made on June 3 and effective on that date, on June 8, the EPA issued an order providing guidance on the sale, distribution and use of existing stocks of the three affected dicamba products. The EPA order stated in part:

  • Distribution or sale by any person is generally prohibited except for ensuring proper disposal or return to the registrant. Keep in mind that “distribution” is broadly defined as including “distributing, selling, offering for sale, holding for sale, shipping, holding for shipment, delivering for shipment, or receiving and (having so received) delivering or offering to deliver, or releasing for shipment to any person in any state.”
  • Commercial applicators may distribute or sell existing stocks that are in their possession. Existing stocks are defined as the products “which were packaged, labeled, and released for shipment prior to the time of the order on June 3, 2020.”
  • Growers may use any existing stocks, as defined above, consistent with the product’s previously approved label and may not continue after July 31.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has said he will formally request a Section 18 exemption from the EPA to allow the continued use of dicamba in Texas under emergency conditions.

The Texas cotton crop is already growing or going in the ground right now, and “our cotton growers must have certainty,” Miller said.

An Emergency Exemption under Section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, FIFRA, would authorize EPA to allow limited use of the pesticide in defined geographic areas for a finite period once the EPA confirms that the situation meets the statutory definition of an “emergency condition.”

Written by Kay Ledbetter


Dicamba Availability Critical to Cotton Production Stability

The National Cotton Council is grateful for EPA’s quick action enabling cotton producers to use existing stocks of three dicamba formulations this season following the recent court decision to vacate the products’ registrations.

Memphis, TN (June 10, 2020) – The National Cotton Council (NCC) is grateful for EPA’s quick action enabling cotton producers to use existing stocks of three dicamba formulations this season following the recent court decision to vacate the products’ registrations.

The EPA’s cancellation order issued on Monday, and further noted in the agency’s press statement, allows the distribution or sale by commercial applicators of existing stocks (those in hand as of June 3) of Xtendimax, Engenia, and FeXapan that were already in the commercial applicator’s possession. The cancellation order prohibits all other sale or distribution of existing stocks except to facilitate return to the manufacturer or for proper disposal. In a subsequent clarification, EPA stated that it “is permissible for a certified applicator (including a farmer who is a certified applicator) personally to retrieve or pick up Xtendimax, Engenia, or FeXapan that is temporarily stored by a retailer, distributor, or cooperative for use consistent with the requirements of the label, if the certified applicator (including a farmer who is a certified applicator) purchased the product on or before June 3.” The cancellation order was issued in light of last week’s U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacatur of the products’ registrations.

NCC President/CEO Gary Adams said EPA’s order to permit use of these dicamba formulations will be a tremendous help to U.S. cotton producers’ weed control efforts. He said the majority of cotton acres are planted to varieties that are tolerant to over-the-top applications of these herbicides -- which are vital for controlling pigweed and other weeds that have demonstrated resistance to other herbicides.

Prior to EPA’s order, Adams had conveyed to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler the critical need for access to the dicamba herbicides.

“With crops having already emerged along with the emergence of multiple weed species, timely herbicide applications would have been seriously jeopardized,” Adams stated in his letter. “Producers also were facing additional financial costs and uncertainty in terms of implementing a different weed management plan.”

Prior to EPA’s cancellation order, the NCC advised the agency that research conducted prior to availability of dicamba-tolerant varieties reported a minimum 50 percent yield-loss in fields with resistant pigweed. The NCC also provided EPA with a preliminary analysis that estimates a direct loss of at least $400 million in U.S. cotton production value in 2020 without access to the three dicamba herbicides.

“The economic damage that would result from not being able to use these dicamba herbicides,” Adams said, “would exacerbate an already tenuous economic situation for cotton farmers who are already facing depressed market prices due to ongoing trade tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Going forward, the NCC will work with EPA on a new registration for 2021 and beyond for these important herbicides so that cotton producers can rely on these necessary weed control technologies.

As the unifying force of the U.S. cotton industry, the Memphis-based NCC has a mission of ensuring the ability of all industry segments to compete effectively and profitably in the raw cotton, oilseed and U.S.-manufactured product markets at home and abroad.


For more information, see "Dicamba Herbicides Are Essential Tool" from the National Cotton Council.

For more information, see "Managing Weeds in Light of the Current Dicamba Ruling" from the North Carolina State Extension.