Iowa Ag Secretary Naig requests guidance from EPA on Ninth Circuit Court’s pesticide ruling

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig has sent a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler requesting guidance on what the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision to vacate the EPA’s dicamba (pesticide) product registration means for Iowa farmers.

In the letter Secretary Naig wrote, “We are requesting that the EPA provides guidance about what this ruling means for producers in Iowa, and presents options to allow retailers and farmers to apply existing stocks during the 2020 growing season. This ruling is creating uncertainty at a time when farmers are already heading into the fields to treat emerging crops and it leaves them without effective weed management tools.”

Read the entire letter here.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has not issued a stop sale order and will continue operating under the current pesticide program until it receives guidance from the EPA. The Department does not anticipate taking enforcement action against those who otherwise appropriately purchase, sell, or use these products in the interim. This enforcement decision may change immediately based on further guidance from the EPA.

Dicamba is a weed management tool that Iowa farmers use to protect their crops. Water hemp, a weed commonly found in Iowa fields, has developed a resistance to many registered herbicide products, leaving producers with limited options for the 2020 growing season.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on June 4 issued the following statement on the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to vacate Dicamba registrations:

“Producers need all the tools in their toolbox to produce the world’s food, fuel, and fiber, and USDA re-affirms its support for EPA’s science-based process for assessing and managing ecological risks, balanced against the agricultural and societal benefits of crop protection tools. USDA stands ready to assist its federal partners in meeting that goal. Farmers across America have spent hard earned money on previously allowed crop protection tools. I encourage the EPA to use any available flexibilities to allow the continued use of already purchased dicamba products, which are a critical tool for American farmers to combat weeds resistant to many other herbicides, in fields that are already planted. Unfortunately, the Ninth Circuit has chosen to eliminate one of those tools.”

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler released the following statement on the Ninth Circuit Vacatur of dicamba registrations:

“We are disappointed with the decision. The 2020 growing season is well underway and this creates undue burden for our first conservationists – farmers. EPA has been overwhelmed with letters and calls from farmers nationwide since the Court issued its opinion, and these testimonies cite the devastation of this decision on their crops and the threat to America’s food supply. The Court itself noted in this order that it will place a great hardship on America’s farmers. This ruling implicates millions of acres of crops, millions of dollars already spent by farmers, and the food and fiber Americans across the country rely on to feed their families.”

“EPA is assessing all avenues to mitigate the impact of the Court’s decision on farmers.”

Background

The order addresses three registrations containing the active ingredient dicamba (Xtendimax with Vaporgrip Technology (EPA Reg. No. 524-617), Engenia – (EPA Reg. No. 7969-345), FeXapan – (EPA Reg. No. 352-913), which is a valuable pest control tool for America’s farmers.