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Pesticides under fire in U.S.

Recent court decisions have threatened farmers' abilities to use some herbicides

Pesticides are increasingly under attack in the United States and that is keeping farm leaders awake at night.

Reports of drift damage from dicamba-based products rose dramatically in the U.S. Midwest in 2017, covering more than 3.6 million acres.

Drift: The dreadful ‘D’ word in crop spraying

Herbicide drift can cause crop damage and have other repercussions

Scrutiny of crop spraying continues to increase and off-target movement or drift can affect yield and become an annoyance growers would rather avoid. Why it matters: Understanding how drift can occur and dealing with it if it happens can minimize crop loss and keep neighbours happy. “I’m not representing any enforcement agency, but if there […] Read more



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U.S. dicamba ruling won’t touch Canada: Bayer

Thousands of American farmers who have already bought the herbicide now in a bind after court bans over-the-top use

An Arizona court decision that essentially prohibits American farmers from using dicamba for over-the-top spraying on soybeans and cotton will not stop Canadian growers from using the herbicide this year, says Bayer Crop Science Canada.


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U.S. court cancels dicamba approval

Glacier FarmMedia- (CHICAGO Reuters)- A U.S. court has nullified the government’s latest approvals of certain agricultural herbicides sold by Bayer, BASF and Syngenta, fueling uncertainty among farmers who spray the products on soybeans and cotton genetically modified to resist them. Environmental activists cheered the court for halting use of the dicamba-based herbicides, which are known to […] Read more

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US court cancels approvals for widely used dicamba weedkillers

EPA violated procedures mandating public input, judge rules

A U.S. court has nullified the government's latest approvals of certain agricultural weedkillers sold by Bayer, BASF and Syngenta, fueling uncertainty among farmers who spray the products on soybeans and cotton genetically engineered to resist them.

Kochia in a canola field.  Photo: File

Crop-killing weeds advance across US farmland as chemicals lose effectiveness

Losing battle with weeds adds pressures to farmers already stressed by inflation, extreme weather

Crop-killing weeds such as kochia are advancing across the U.S. northern plains and Midwest, in the latest sign that weeds are developing resistance to chemicals faster than companies including Bayer BAYGn.DE and Corteva CTVA.N can develop new ones to fight them.


The industry needs to talk more about weather, sprayer tips, record-keeping and communicating with neighbours.

Staying on-target: How seed tech and weed type factor into spraying

Herbicide resistance and seed technologies making spray decisions complex

Off-target movement of herbicides carries a risk to your own crops, your neighbour’s crop and your insurance premiums. Particularly with the arrival of Group 4 and Group 9 herbicide technologies, there may be a perception that weed management has become simpler. But resistant weed biotypes are confounding that notion and are challenging growers and their […] Read more

Soy leaves that were damaged by the weed killer dicamba in 2018 as part of University of Wisconsin research into whether the herbicide drifted away from where it was sprayed.

Study shows amines can go airborne

Science Notes: Finding may help explain how dicamba drift occurs

Dicamba drift, the movement of the herbicide off crops and through the atmosphere, can result in unintentional damage to neighbouring plants. To prevent dicamba drift, other chemicals, typically amines, are mixed with dicamba to “lock” it in place and prevent it from turning into a vapour that more easily moves in the atmosphere. New research […] Read more