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Panel Discusses Steps Forward Regarding Dicamba

Dicamba drift damage has been, and continues to be, a huge story in agriculture. The big question is what does the future hold for the product? 
 
At a recent press conference hosted by DTN, University of Missouri weed scientist, Dr. Kevin Bradley says the damage done this past growing season was significant…
 
 
Bradley says there’s never been a problem like this in U.S. agriculture before. As proof of that, he cites research from Bob Hartzler at Iowa State University…
 
 
While physical drift of the product itself has been a problem, improper tank cleaning has also been found to be an issue. It doesn’t take much leftover dicamba in the tank to do crop damage.
 
He says temperature inversions with a volatile product can cause drift, and Bradley says there shouldn’t be any more night time spraying of dicamba, which is part of the new label requirements.
 
Jean Payne is the president of the Illinois Chemical and Fertilizer Association. Going into 2018, she says it’s important for commercial applicators to remember that even if dicamba drift doesn’t necessarily put a huge dent in someone’s harvest results, it’s still a violation of law…
 
 
Jay Magnussen is a farmer and full-time agronomist in northwest Iowa. He says dicamba is not an easy product to use correctly. As an agronomist, he doesn’t want to spend time next summer walking through damaged fields. One way to move forward in the dicamba debate is communication between farmers…
 
 
It’s important for applicators to remember the new label requirements include training before the next spraying season begins.

 

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