Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association
Supply · Service · Stewardship

Dicamba Buffers & Corn

We hope everyone is making progress getting their annual dicamba training.  To link to all the available training programs, click here.  
 
One major change in the new dicamba labels for use on soybean is how you manage applications in the endangered species counties.  Corn cannot be included as a tolerant crop in any of the buffers (downwind or omni-directional) in counties that USEPA has designated as having endangered species for the purpose of dicamba application to soybean.  
 
To illustrate this, click here to see the language in the ESA Bulletin, for a planned application of Tavium in June 2021.  It states that the only crops that can be counted in the downwind buffer are DT soybean or DT cotton. The same language exists in the bulletins for Engenia and Xtendimax applications made in 2021.  If you are NOT in an endangered species county, corn can be counted in the buffer.  
 
The Illinois endangered species counties for dicamba application to soybean are:  Bureau, Effingham, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Grundy, Kankakee, LaSalle, Livingston, Madison, Marion, Morgan, Peoria, Pike, Schuyler, St. Clair, Tazewell and Will.  IFCA compiled a map of these counties, click here for the map.  
 
The University of Illinois released a podcast with more detail on the dicamba labels including a discussion on corn in the downwind buffer.  To listen to the podcast, click here.  https://soundcloud.com/narrowrow/dicamba-on-soybean-restrictions-in-illinois-updated
 
Please give us a call if you have questions, and help communicate this important detail on the buffer requirements to your farmer customers.