Micheal Clements, NAFB News Service

Environmental groups say the Environmental Protection Agency should not renew over-the-top dicamba use without further independent research. A new report from the National Wildlife Federation and others suggest dicamba herbicides “pose serious threats to wild plants and the wildlife that depend upon them.” The report says the EPA should not renew over-the-top product registrations unless and until independent research shows with certainty that dicamba formulations will not cause off-target injury to crops and wild plants, including from vapor drift.  The groups say there is mounting evidence suggests that current dicamba products and uses are causing unreasonable adverse effects on the environment, even when used as specified on the labels. The report advocates for diversifying weed management strategies to improve resilience, including choosing crop varieties that are competitive with weeds, adjusting planting dates and depths of crops to help get ahead of weed growth, and managing nutrients in ways that give crops the competitive edge.