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Monsanto says Arkansas dicamba ban is “a step backward”

A manufacturer of new dicamba herbicide formulations says a vote by an Arkansas committee to seek a dicamba ban after April 15^th is a step backward.

Scott Partridge is Monsanto’s Vice President of Global Strategy.   In a Brownfield interview, Partridge says, “It’s a real concern but it’s not a surprise.  We already saw what the task force recommended, and again, it’s not based in science, it’s not based in fact, and the vote today was a similar reflection of the broken process in Arkansas.”

Even though Monsanto’s dicamba products were not approved for Arkansas farmers, he tells Brownfield they are investigating dicamba issues and have filed a petition with the state to keep the weed control product available.  “There’s a 32-page petition, single-spaced, that lays out our arguments, the facts, and the science.  And, there’s a four-inch stack of paper with test data and surveys, and analysis that backs it up and they can’t hide from that.  They’re going to have to consider that now.”

The petition was filed last week, and Partridge says Arkansas has 30 days to respond.

Partridge says most of the dicamba problems resulted from misuse, lack of training, or not following label directions.  He says a training and certification program similar to Georgia along with proper nozzles, ground speed, and the correct weather conditions when applying would eliminate most dicamba problems.