Earlier this month, DTN writer Emily Unglesbee reported that, “Three consecutive years of off-target dicamba injury is taking its toll on the agricultural industry.
“Leo Reed even has a name for it: dicamba fatigue.
“‘States recognize that both we and the [EPA], we’re all suffering from dicamba fatigue — staffing shortages and issues and processing a huge number of complaint cases again this year,’ said Reed, an Indiana state pesticide regulator serving as president-elect of the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO).”
The DTN article noted that, “‘The term dicamba fatigue applies to growers as well,’ Reed continued. ‘We’re hearing from growers who say, ‘I’ve been hit three years in a row and I’m not going to report anymore. It’s not doing any good.”
“Reed’s comments came during a two-day annual meeting of state pesticide regulators, State FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG), in Arlington, Virginia. There, during a special session on the herbicide, state regulators reported continued problems with off-target dicamba injury, which overwhelmed some state agencies for a third year in a row. And this year, for the first time, several state regulators also reported growing concerns for the health of non-soybean vegetation, especially trees, as well as human health and safety.”
Ms. Unglesbee added that, “Illinois led the country in dicamba injury, with regulators actively investigating 724 cases of alleged dicamba injury, a record for the state, noted Brian Verhougstraete, a Michigan pesticide regulator representing Region 5 states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
“‘Illinois regulators mentioned that you would be hard-pressed to find a non-dicamba-tolerant soybean field in some counties that wasn’t damaged, because there were whole counties that appeared to be damaged,’ Verhougstraete said.”
