EPA, farmers, and Bayer are fighting in an Arizona federal court to keep the controversial herbicide dicamba on the market for over-the-top use. The agency, producer groups and the registrant for Xtendimax have all filed briefs in support of EPA’s approvals of Xtendimax, BASF’s Engenia and Syngenta’s Tavium — specifically, its decision in 2020 and label amendments in 2022 and 2023.
 
The Center for Food Safety and Center for Biological Diversity both contend EPA inadequately considered the herbicide's risks to endangered plants and animals through off-target drift. EPA defended its decision-making process, saying it properly concluded there was “no effect” on endangered species except the Eskimo curlew, which hasn’t been seen in more than 50 years. And Bayer and EPA both argued that EPA had limited the potential for off-target damage by establishing cutoff dates for dicamba applications in specific states where there had been high numbers of complaints.
 
There appears to be no chance farmers will lose dicamba this growing season, as the court has set a briefing schedule that extends into next month. The plaintiffs have another brief scheduled for June 29, and EPA and Bayer, which has intervened on the side of the agency, will respond July 20.