State Agri Department issues reminder on dicamba ban
by June 12, 2025 1:24 pm 452 views
Dicamba cannot be used at this time in Arkansas after a series of court rulings, and those that defy the law face stiff state and federal penalties. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture has issued a reminder to pesticide applicators and agricultural producers about the restrictions regarding the use of dicamba products during the 2025 growing season.
Through October 31, pesticides labeled for agricultural use that contain dicamba cannot be used for pre-plant (burndown) applications in Arkansas.
“At this time, no pesticides containing dicamba have a valid federal or state registration for over-the-top (OTT) application on dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton. As a result, farmers cannot legally apply OTT dicamba on soybeans and cotton in 2025,” the department stated.
Producers and applicators who fail to comply with federal and/or state laws and rules may be subject to civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation, as well as possible suspension or revocation of their applicator license.
The 2024 ruling by the U.S. District Court of Arizona vacated registrations for XtendiMax, Engenia and Tavium. These herbicides were to be used in concert with proprietary cotton and soybean varieties developed to be resistant to dicamba and affect only the weeds.
Neither the Environmental Protection Agency nor companies registered to sell have dicamba to overturn the U.S. District Court decision, according to research done by Talk Business & Politics.
“The decision from the U.S. District Court of Arizona was another major development in the ongoing saga impacting producers’ methods for protecting their crops,” Brigit Rollins, staff attorney for the National Agricultural Law Center, said. “Pending a possible appeal, producers will not be able to rely on over-the-top dicamba as they may have in the past.”
Dicamba is a proven crop weed killer, but if it can drift from one field to another field and cause damage to crops that have not been genetically modified for dicamba. Arkansas officials have had to navigate a delicate playing field for years when it comes to the use of dicamba, especially in Northeast Arkansas where it is used on soybean and cotton crops among others.
Dicamba has been banned in several states. Dicamba has been used as a herbicide for more than 50 years to manage 200 broadleaf weeds. Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed in connection with the use of the herbicide nationwide during the last decade.
Dicamba has been highly controversial in its application since the Arkansas Plant Board received about 1,000 damage complaints in May 2017, primarily in Northeast Arkansas. Drift from the application of dicamba was suspected to be damaging other crops.