By Clint Thompson
The Georgia Cotton Commission (GCC) issued a response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent guidance on the use of dicamba products, which was recently vacated by the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona for over-the-top use on dicamba resistant cotton and soybeans.
GCC Executive Director Taylor Sills talked about the EPA’s guidance which will help Georgia cotton producers move forward with the upcoming season.
“At the end of the day their response says that the registrants, a.k.a. manufacturers, have to stop the manufacture, sale and distribution of these three dicamba products (XtendiMax, Engenia, and Tavium),” Sills said. “What they have allowed for is the continued sale and distribution of products that were released for sale, which means they have been manufactured, packaged and labeled before Feb. 6.
“In Georgia, they have to be sold and delivered to the producer by June 30, 2024. On the same end, the products have to be applied on cotton in Georgia by July 30. Soybean has a different date, but on cotton it is July 30.”
The GCC cautions growers that the situation regarding the use of these products remains fluid and guidelines could change.
“Just because this guidance has been issued, that does not mean that this situation is over. I would assume we will have to do a round of trainings on this the way we have in the past,” Sills said. “Everyone needs to stay in close communication with their county Extension agent to see when these trainings are going to be and how that’s going to be handled.”
Of the more than 3,000 family cotton farmers in Georgia, many depend on dicamba as part of the tools needed to fight economic pests like palmer amaranth and morningglory.