If you like consistency, stability, and predictability, you have HATED the last 4 years working with dicamba-tolerant crops…

Once again, it looks like we’re going to lose dicamba as an over-the-top option for Xtend and XtendFlex soybeans and cotton. Here’s what we know and what we don’t know heading into this spring.

DICAMBA IS STILL LABELED FOR XTEND AND XTENDFLEX CROPS

For this spring, you can continue to spray Xtendimax, Engenia, or Tavium just like you did last year. Nothing has changed other than how your retailer can interact with you. Just to add complexity into this whole thing, retailers cannot sell XtendiMax, Engenia, or Tavium within 30 days of the last day you can use the product. For example – in my area, the cutoff date for spraying any of these herbicides is June 20.

No retailer in my area can sell you these products after May 21. That means you need to get your product early, pick up exactly the right amount, and use 100% of it up, because there are no returns. You don’t like it. Retailers don’t like it, but that’s what we’re dealing with.

DON’T SWITCH AWAY FROM XTENDFLEX TOO QUICKLY

The most popular question I’ve gotten from agronomists this spring has been, “Should my farmers switch to Enlist instead of XtendFlex to get ready for next year, since it looks like next year we won’t have dicamba?”

At this point, no one knows if dicamba will be labeled next year or not. What we do know right now is ALL OTHER DICAMBA PRODUCTS ARE STILL FULLY LABELED. For example, Banvel, Clarity, Status, DiFlexx, Distinct, and anything containing dicamba not named XtendiMax, Engenia, or Tavium are completely unaffected by the EPA’s recent ruling. Last year we saw a lot of dicamba drift out of corn fields and pastures. I would expect that will continue. In other words, if you are planting XtendFlex for defense, you may want to keep planting XtendFlex.

LIBERTY IS A GREAT HERBICIDE AND IT’S INEXPENSIVE

The Liberty price has crashed since last year. Even at the full use rate of 43 ounces, it’s still cheaper than XtendiMax, Engenia, or Tavium at most retailers on a net basis. In other words, if you switch from dicamba to Liberty, which you can do in XtendFlex soybeans, you should still get great weed control and you’ll save a little money.

YIELD IS GOOD REGARDLESS OF SEED TRAIT

Whatever you decide, Enlist or XtendFlex, you will have good weed control options and high-yielding varieties. Like anything else that has been new in the soybean market, both Enlist and XtendFlex were a little questionable in terms of yield in years one and two. Now however, you can’t go wrong with either trait. As always, we encourage you to really study up on specific varieties if you have major issues on your farm like Iron Deficiency Chlorosis (IDC), Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS), or Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN).