Overview
- EPA on Feb. 6 approved two-year registrations for over-the-top dicamba use on dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton, covering BASF’s Engenia, Bayer’s Stryax, and Syngenta’s Tavium.
- The new labels cut the maximum annual rate in half, replace calendar cutoffs with temperature-based spray limits, require volatility-reduction agents and larger droplets, and limit applications to trained professionals under enforceable mandates.
- EPA says its analysis found no unreasonable risk when products are used as directed and acknowledges past drift and volatility problems that harmed neighboring plants and wildlife.
- Environmental and health advocates, including Moms Across America and the Center for Food Safety, denounce the decision, citing documented off-target damage and cancer-linked exposure studies, and they indicate further legal action is possible.
- The reapproval follows federal court rulings in 2020 and 2024 that vacated earlier registrations, while commodity groups for soybeans and cotton welcome the return of the tool as companies pursue state approvals and roll out applicator training.