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Arkansas Lawmakers OK Dicamba Ban

Dan Environment, Industry News Release

Arkansas lawmakers approved, without discussion, a partial-ban on a herbicide that drifts on to other crops where it arkansaswasn’t applied and causes damage.

An Associated Press report says the prohibition faces a court challenge by the maker of the weed killer.

The Legislative Council approved the Arkansas Plant Board plan to ban dicamba use from April 15 through October 31. The Council is the legislature’s governing body when lawmakers aren’t in session.

Earlier this week, a subcommittee recommended the council approve the ban. The Plant Board first proposed the ban after receiving over 1,000 complaints about dicamba. Monsanto is a maker of dicamba and has asked a state judge to prevent the restriction from going into effect.

Arkansas is one of many states that have gotten complaints about dicamba drifting into adjacent fields from the ones it was directly applied to, causing damage in soybeans that aren’t resistant to the herbicide.

From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.