Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Minnesota became the latest U.S. state on Tuesday to restrict controversial weed killers made by Monsanto and BASF that were linked to widespread crop damage, while Arkansas took a step back from imposing new limits. The U.S. has faced an agricultural crisis this year caused by new versions of the herbicides, […] Read more
Minnesota joins U.S. states limiting dicamba
Monsanto, BASF herbicides strain states with damage complaints
Reading Time: 4 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. farmers have overwhelmed state governments with thousands of complaints about crop damage linked to new versions of herbicides, threatening future sales by manufacturers Monsanto and BASF. Monsanto is banking on herbicides using dicamba — and seeds engineered to resist it — to dominate soybean production in the U.S., the world’s […] Read more
Dicamba label sufficient, Health Canada says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Health Canada will not be further regulating the use of dicamba herbicide sprayed on growing crops, as has happened in the U.S. The government agency that regulates pesticides issued a statement to Glacier FarmMedia reiterating its support for the current Canadian labels. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week increased restrictions on the use […] Read more
Pest Patrol: What have we learned in 2017 for managing glyphosate-resistant Canada fleabane?
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA, Dr. Clarence Swanton, Dr. François Tardif and Peter Smith, University of Guelph
Reading Time: 2 minutes Multiple strategies are needed to control glyphosate-resistant Canada fleabane. Experience has taught agronomists and farmers that simply tank mixing another mode of action won’t be a good enough long-term approach. Since 2016, we have evaluated different management tactics for Canada fleabane. The following are the results at our Oxford and Norfolk county field locations. Tillage […] Read more
U.S. EPA gives dicamba ‘restricted use’ label for 2018
Reading Time: 2 minutes New York | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled new restrictions on Friday on the use of dicamba herbicide, which has caused widespread crop damage in the U.S. Midwest for the past two years. The EPA said in a statement that certain formulations of the substance will be classified as a restricted-use pesticide, […] Read more
Several U.S. scientists to skip Monsanto’s dicamba summit
Reading Time: 3 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Monsanto invited dozens of weed scientists to a summit this week to win backing for a controversial herbicide but many have declined, threatening the company’s efforts to convince regulators the product is safe to use. Monsanto faces a barrage of lawsuits over its dicamba herbicide and risks of tighter restrictions on […] Read more
U.S. EPA aims to allow dicamba use, with safeguards
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is aiming to allow farmers to spray the controversial herbicide dicamba next year, but with additional rules for its use, an official with the agency said on Tuesday. Reuben Baris, acting chief of the herbicide branch of the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs, said the agency […] Read more
Monsanto presses against Arkansas’ dicamba limits
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Monsanto Co. pushed Arkansas authorities on Thursday to reject a proposed April 15 cutoff date next year for sprayings of the agricultural herbicide dicamba, which has been linked to crop damage across the U.S. farm belt. The company further said that Arkansas’ plant board should allow farmers in the state to […] Read more
Stressors pile up for Manitoba soybeans
Reading Time: 2 minutes Damaged patches of soybeans around Manitoba this year could be due to a combination of stresses, says Manitoba Agriculture plant pathologist Holly Derksen. “It’s a tricky year for diagnosing these problems,” Derksen said Wednesday during the Crop Talk Westman webinar. “When multiple stressors are present often the soybean plants may respond differently. Not all plants, […] Read more
U.S. farmers confused by Monsanto’s Xtendimax instructions
Reading Time: 3 minutes Chicago | Reuters — With Monsanto’s latest flagship weed killer, dicamba, banned in Arkansas and under review by U.S. regulators over concerns it can drift in the wind, farmers and weed scientists are also complaining that confusing directions on the label make the product hard to use safely. Dicamba, sold under different brand names by […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
