Arkansas Proposes Stringent Rules on Dicamba-Based Herbicides

Many eyes were on the Arkansas state pesticide board Nov. 21 as officials that oversee pesticide regulations wrestled with decisions on dicamba herbicide. At the end of a packed, three-hour public meeting, the Arkansas Plant Board voted to push measures toward that state's governor that would ban some forms of the herbicide and limit how and when newer dicamba formulations are used in the state.  The situation has been brewing for months after cotton and soybean seeds engineered to tolerate dicamba were released in 2015 and 2016 without the special herbicides designed for those seeds. Some farmers who planted the Xtend-brand seeds later reached for existing dicamba herbicides, despite warnings from companies and state officials that those applications would be illegal.