This upcoming growing season promises to be slightly different than any that have come before it. In 2017, USDA estimates say that almost as much soybean acres will be planted as corn — 89.5 million acres vs. 90 million acres. And chances are that at least some of these added soybeans acres will feature seeds/plants that have been engineered to be resistant to the herbicide dicamba — the latest in the agricultural industry’s ongoing effort to combat the more than 200 weeds in grower fields that have developed resistance to other popular herbicides such as PPO varieties and glyphosate.

 

As Dr. Mark Hanna, Extension Agricultural Engineer at Iowa State University, points out, this has the potential to fundamentally change how custom applicators can perform their jobs. “The herbicide landscape has changed again,” says Hanna. “With resistance issues out there and a wider range of product out there, it’s become a much different ballgame to control drift issues than what we’ve been doing in the past.”

 

Darrin Holder, Agronomist Manager for WinField United, agrees. “Drift issues will be much more prevalent in 2017 and beyond because of all the different cropping systems growers can be using in their fields,” says Holder.

 

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