Ag News
Comment on EPA proposed cotton/soybean dicamba use by Sept. 6
Posted on Aug 20, 2025 at 16:42 PM
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency staff members visited Lee Nunn’s Morgan County farm Aug. 15 to discuss the agency’s proposal to reapprove the use of three dicamba herbicide products on cotton and soybean varieties that are dicamba tolerant.
Nunn, top level of cotton sprayer, second from right, welcomed from right: UGA Extension Weed Agronomist Dr. Stanley Culpepper, EPA Senior Advisor for Agriculture & Rural Affairs Turner Bridgforth, EPA Region 4 Agriculture Advisor David Champagne, Morgan Co. Extension Agent Lucy Ray and on the ground from left, Georgia Farm Service Agency Executive Director Duncan Johnson, Georgia Farm Bureau President Tom McCall & EPA Southeast Chief of Staff Leland Frost. /Photo by Jennifer Whittaker
Morgan County row crop farmer Lee Nunn welcomed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff members to his farm Aug. 15 to discuss the agency’s proposal to reapprove the use of three dicamba herbicide products on cotton and soybean varieties bred to tolerate dicamba.
EPA announced its proposal to renew the registration for herbicide brands XtendiMax, Engenia, and Tavium plus VaporGrip, for "over-the-top" (OTT) applications to dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybeans on July 23. OTT dicamba applications aim to remove broadleaf weed species, such as pigweed (palmer amaranth) that can reduce crop yield. OTT dicamba products have high benefits in cotton and soybeans for controlling weeds that are resistant to other herbicides and managing resistance to herbicides in the future, UGA Extension research shows.
Nunn, who was Georgia’s 2020/21 Expo Farmer of the Year, farms about 1,600 acres of crops. His crop rotation includes just under 400 acres of cotton and about 300 acres of soybeans.
“I like the proposal to bring dicamba back. It’s been a detriment to me this year not being able to use it on my cotton. We had to use inferior chemicals that cost me more money,” Nunn said. “Farmers need all the tools we can get to grow our crops. If you do what the label says and apply the product at the rates and with the buffers the [product] label advises we don’t have issues with the product drifting.
EPA officials visiting Nunn’s farm were: EPA Senior Advisor for Agriculture & Rural Affairs Turner Bridgforth, EPA Region 4 Agriculture Advisor David Champagne and EPA Southeast Chief of Staff Leland Frost.
“EPA is confident these products will not cause any human health risks through the food supply,” Bridgforth said when speaking at the GFB Commodity Conference on Aug. 14. “We’re proposing several requirements to prevent drift of dicamba when it is sprayed to prevent any potential ecological risks and to protect endangered species.”
UGA Extension Weed Scientist Dr. Stanley Culpepper encourages cotton and soybean farmers to read pages 28-35 of the proposal for the most pertinent information about the proposal. Anyone wishing to submit comments to the EPA regarding the proposal should do so by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sept. 6 at the website listed below.
Farmers who would like to read the EPA’s proposal can read and download the proposal at https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OPP-2024-0154-1239. To comment on the proposal via email, visit https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OPP-2024-0154-1233 and click on the blue comment icon in the upper left corner of the webpage.
Comments may also be mailed to (but must be received by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sept. 6):
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
EPA Docket Center,
New Use of Dicamba on DT Cotton and DT Soybean;
Mail Code 28221T
1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW,
Washington, DC 20460.
“I’m glad we’ve got an administration that will work with farmers and not against us and is proposing renewing the registration for these three dicamba products Georgia cotton and soybean growers need,” said Georgia Farm Bureau President Tom McCall, who attended the farm visit. “Farm Bureau encourages all farmers who use these herbicides to read the EPA proposal and submit comments regarding whether the proposed application restrictions will work on your farms.”
The EPA’s proposal to renew the registration for dicamba on cotton and soybeans includes restrictions such as: no applications at temperatures above 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which would effectively eliminate a farmer’s ability to use dicamba across large parts of the U.S. cotton belt; adding an approved drift reduction agent and pH buffering volatility reduction agent to the spray tank in higher percentages as temperatures rise; a single use maximum application rate of 0.5 lb. acid equivalent (a.e.) of dicamba per acre; no more than two applications allowed with a maximum annual application of 1 lb. (a.e.) dicamba per acre from all combined dicamba-containing products; maintaining a 240-ft downwind buffer; and the prohibition of aerial applications.
“We appreciate the EPA helping us get approval for the use of dicamba,” Culpepper said. “There are a couple of areas in the proposed regulations where we hope to work with the EPA to make the recommendations work better for farmers. Neither UGA nor the Georgia Department of Agriculture have ever documented a single drift volatility issue in Georgia.”
Nunn took the EPA officials and reporters from the Atlanta Journal & Constitution and Georgia Public Broadcasting into a cotton field that was blooming where they were able to see the sprayer he uses to apply herbicides to his cotton and soybean crops.
“Farmers have numerous features on our equipment that help us protect the environment,” Nunn said. “We have different spray tips on the sprayer nozzles that can be used to control the application rates [of herbicides or pesticides] for different types of crops that prevents excess chemicals from accidentally being sprayed on the crop and getting into the ground. The dirt is what makes me money, so I want to take care of it, just like a homeowner who is growing a garden.”
Nunn said he has noticed several coveys of wild Bob Whites on his farm in recent years, which he partially attributes to his careful use of herbicides and pesticides not harming the environment. He said fewer coyotes has also helped.
Nunn also told the EPA officials and the reporters about the mandatory training anyone who applied dicamba on crops in Georgia took annually in past years when dicamba was available.
“I had to be trained every year to be able to use dicamba through the Using Pesticides Wisely program,” Nunn said. “I do all of the chemical mixing on my farm, and I try to do a really good job of handling our chemicals with the utmost care.”
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