AUSTIN — Today, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller released the following response to yesterday’s U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s ruling vacating three registrations of the herbicide dicamba, effective immediately.

“For the farmers in Texas, I want to be clear: I’ve got your back.  Dicamba is still available for use in Texas as currently labeled and will continue to be so until someone tells us to stop.  In this difficult time, the last thing Texas farmers need is more uncertainty.”

“The Ninth Circuit ruling on dicamba is already spurring very significant confusion and chaos among soybean and cotton growers and applicators here in Texas, who were intending to apply the herbicide today, tomorrow and over the coming weeks.   The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can and should provide clarity as soon as possible by announcing that it plans to take further administrative action, and then doing so.”

“On behalf of the farmers in my state, I respectfully request that EPA issue an existing stocks order to provide appropriate guidance to farmers and applicators and request a Section 18 Emergency Use for these products for Texas farmers.”

The Texas Department of Agriculture is designated as the lead state agency for the regulation of pesticide use and application in the Lone Star State.  TDA is responsible for licensing and training pesticide applicators, overseeing worker protection, registering pesticides for sale in the state and working to minimize unnecessary impacts to agriculture while enhancing protection of endangered and threatened species. For more information on this responsibility, visit the TDA Pesticides web page.

You may view the dicamba ruling from the Ninth Circuit here:  PDF

–Texas Department of Agriculture

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