Playing by the rules
The federal government’s recent action on the common herbicide ingredient dicamba is one such example, and farmers may need to make some changes to comply with new regulations laid out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In October 2017, the EPA ruled that three crop protection products labeled for in-season use containing dicamba, a common herbicide for weed control in several common crops, are restricted-use pesticides. That classification changes the management requirements for using those products, especially in the 34 states where approved for use on traited cotton and soybeans. Manufacturers of chemicals including dicamba also revised labels spelling out the new requirements for farmers.
In addition to mandating farmers apply the chemical under specific environmental conditions and attend training to avoid over-application and off-target movement, the change requires them to “maintain specific records regarding the use of these products to improve compliance with label restrictions,” according to the EPA. The EPA ruling may pose a challenge to many, especially those who don’t use precision ag equipment. The new regulations require increased documentation that must be recorded within 14 days of application.
Ag Leader tools help growers comply with new government requirements and improve application on the farm:
AUTOMATIC APPLICATION DOCUMENTATION
Automatically generate PDF reports with Ag Leader’s SmartReport™ function. These reports provide specific location information, product details, applied totals, as-applied maps and more, right from your display.
RELIABLE PRODUCT DRIFT PREVENTION
DirectCommand® provides reliable application rate control. Off-target movement, a main concern of the volatile dicamba compound, can be managed with real-time monitoring of droplet size based on system pressure and nozzle definition via an easy-to-use interface with a dynamic color-coded pressure gauge.
DIRECTCOMMAND SYSTEM BENEFITS
Eliminate over-application, overlap, spray drift and application gaps. Increase productivity during tight application windows.
Reduce fuel costs and field compaction by applying multiple products at one time. Target product application through crop sensing and prescription application strategies. Document all field application data and provide simple reporting.
Learn more about how DirectCommand helps growers overcome today’s application challenges here.
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2018 edition of Insights Magazine. The complete publication can be found here.