Farmers Need Access to Important Crop Protection Tools

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall recently sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency asking EPA to allow farmers to use existing stocks of dicamba for the upcoming planting season. Earlier this week, a federal court in Arizona vacated the registration of three dicamba products, which are critically important tools for farmers in fighting resistant weeds.

″Many farmers have already made planting decisions to use dicamba-tolerant crop systems and have planned to use dicamba products in the very near future,″ wrote President Duvall. ″These farmers invested substantial sums in the dicamba-resistant seeds in reliance on EPA’s prior approval of dicamba on these crops. Without these products, not only are these substantial investments at risk, but farmers do not know how they will protect their crops.″

AFBF is asking EPA to issue an existing stock order to ensure dicamba remains available to farmers throughout the growing season. Farmers should be allowed to continue the use of the product in accordance with current labels.

″Our farmer and rancher members are committed to the safe use of all crop protection tools,″ the letter continues. ″However, responsible farmers that have invested in – and often taken loans out to purchase – dicamba-resistant products for the current growing season should not bear the financial burden caused by this legal dispute.″

To read the full letter, click here.