Source: PROGRESSIVE FARMER, 8/24/18


As early-order seed buying approaches, the fate of the dicamba/Xtend weed control system rests with EPA. There's no shortage of handwringing about whether EPA will: Allow the current dicamba label to stand; modify use rules slightly -- as the agency did in late 2017 to no real effect; or make more drastic changes such as allowing only pre-emergence or spring-only applications.

Many farmers who have weed issues, and seed companies focusing on Xtend varieties, are pressing for the status quo.
Bayer, which just took the official reins of Monsanto, the registrant of Xtend crops, also must have a touch of anxiety on the EPA outcome. A chunk of the company's $66 billion bid for Monsanto, and the willingness to jettison other in-house products to clear regulatory hurdles, was based on the expected revenue from herbicide/seed trait packages like Xtend and dicamba.

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