IFCA is utilizing the input of our retail members to determine the next steps to enhance the stewardship of this technology and improve the use of dicamba next year in Illinois.  One of those principles is to educate everyone who purchases a bag of Xtend soybeans and encourage a good plan of action as to where they are planted to successfully co-exist with sensitive soybeans and other sensitive crops.  With our own members, we will work to define principles of tank cleanout and application timings and methods that can also ensure a more successful experience for the professional applicator.  We will also share our stewardship program with other stakeholders.  

 

The feedback that we received from our IFCA dicamba survey has been extremely helpful in this process.  Retail representatives from the IFCA Board of Directors and IFCA staff are meeting with Monsanto and BASF to discuss a productive path forward that is focused on enhanced stewardship as we prepare for 2018.  In the meantime, official dicamba misuse complaints at IDA topped out at 240, with the overall number of  pesticide misuse complaints exceeding 350.  On average, IDA receives 100-130 official pesticide misuse complaints per year.  At the IFCA Convention on January 16-18, 2018, we will have several sessions on dicamba management including what IDA learned in their investigations.  For more on dicamba, including a copy of the IFCA retail dicamba survey results go to www.ifca.com and check out "In the News."