Over-the-Top Dicamba Ruling Explained

Ground sprayer parked outside a field at sunset.
(Photo: Canva)

The Essentials

  • On February 6, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (abbreviated as EPA) was ordered by a federal court to vacate (or nullify) the registrations for dicamba products registered for over-the-top applications on dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybeans.
  • The registrations for Engenia, Tavium, and Xtendimax are no longer active.
  • The EPA issued an “Existing Stocks Order” to allow for the limited sale and use of these products, restricted to those stocks that were in the sale and distribution pipeline prior to the February 6, 2024 ruling.

Considerations for 2024

For this year only, you are allowed to use your over-the-top dicamba products in a manner consistent with the provided label if you have dicamba-tolerant cotton or soybean. As a precaution, do not use dicamba products off label. Other dicamba formulations have a higher volatility and drift potential and can injure or kill sensitive broad-leaf plants.

On February 6, 2024, a federal district court in Arizona ruled that the EPA failed to meet the legal public disclosure and comment period for reapproving dicamba products labeled for over-the-top applications. As such, the EPA was forced to vacate registrations for dicamba products labeled for over-the-top applications in tolerant cotton and soybean varieties. The affected products are Engenia (BASF), Tavium (Syngenta), and Xtendimax (Bayer).

Given the timeline of the court’s ruling, many growers have already purchased dicamba and dicamba-tolerant soybean seed. To address this issue and to avoid growers using over-the-top applications with more-volatile dicamba products not labeled for use in cotton or soybean, the EPA followed the registration removals with an Existing Stocks Order, which allows for the limited sale and use of existing stocks. For this year only, growers of South Dakota are allowed to use those dicamba products in a manner consistent with the existing labeling. In other words, the EPA has recognized the problems associated with this sudden ruling, and they have made provisions for growers to be able to use those affected dicamba products this year.

In Summary

To reiterate, Engenia, Tavium, and Xtendimax may be used this year as specified by the label (including over-the-top applications) under an Existing Stocks Order issued by the EPA, which allows for the limited sale and use of these three products that were already in the sale and distribution pipeline as of February 6, 2024.

In plain terms, this initial ruling means those three products are no longer allowed to be sold or used. This ruling will stand until the EPA can revisit the registrations and demonstrate compliance to all required laws and regulations. This could take several years. In the meantime, seek other options for your soybean crop in 2025 and beyond.

Related Topics

Soybean Weeds, Chemical Safety

Related Content

A green Palmer amaranth weed surrounded by various other green plants.

Palmer Amaranth Confirmed in Turner County: Is this weed in your fields?

Palmer amaranth has recently been confirmed in Turner County. Currently, the estimation of Palmer amaranth infestations has been confirmed in 18 counties across South Dakota

Two pictures; The left has yellow soybean plants with only brown dirt throughout. The right has yellow soybean plants with greenish weeds throughout.

Weed Management via Harvesting Order

Despite The warm and wet growing season that promoted continuous flushes of weed germination, weeds are usually present at the time of harvest. Careful consideration should be taken to determine the order of fields to be harvested.

A green field bindweed with a white flower at top.

In a Bind With Field Bindweed?

It’s August and field bindweed, one of our most-persistent perennial weeds, is flowering. Although field bindweed is not statewide noxious, it’s locally noxious in Bennett, Bon Homme, Clarke, Lake, Stanley, and Yankton counties.