Illinois Department of Agriculture Adds More Dicamba Restrictions

By Illinois Department of Agriculture|October 16, 2019

The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) has announced additional label restrictions for the 2020 growing season for the herbicide dicamba. After careful consideration, IDOA Director John Sullivan has determined the Department will be forwarding 24 (c) registration requests to the U.S. EPA for Illinois specific labels for the use of dicamba on soybeans in 2020 requiring the following additional provisions:

DO NOT apply this product if the air temperature at the field at the time of application is over 85 degrees Fahrenheit or if the National Weather Service’s forecasted high temperature for the nearest available location for the day of application exceeds 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
DO NOT apply this product after June 20, 2020.
Before making an application of this product, the applicator must consult the FieldWatch sensitive crop registry and comply with all associated record keeping label requirements.
Maintain the label-specified downwind buffer between the last treated row and the nearest downfield edge of any Illinois Nature Preserves Commission site.
It is best to apply product when the wind is blowing away from sensitive areas, which include but are not limited to bodies of water and non-residential, uncultivated areas that may harbor sensitive plant species.

“The number of off-target complaints received during the 2019 growing season rose dramatically, and the Department is taking action to reduce those numbers,” said John Sullivan, Director, IDOA. “These additional restrictions were reached after careful consideration with our Environmental Programs team at the Department, as well as input from stakeholders in the agriculture industry.”

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