Complete Story
EPA Announces New Dicamba Registration for 2026 & 2027 Growing Seasons
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved a new, time-limited registration for dicamba use on dicamba-tolerant crops for the 2026 and 2027 growing seasons. This decision follows extensive review and introduces an updated federal label with strengthened requirements intended to further reduce the potential for off-target movement and enhance environmental protections. Please review the below EPA requirements that must be met before using dicamba.
The Strongest Protections Ever Required
Comprehensive Safeguards to Prevent Environmental Damage
EPA is requiring an extensive set of protections. Each one is designed to reduce a specific risk.
Reducing the Total Amount in the Environment
Application Rates Cut in Half
- Old limit: Up to 2 pounds of dicamba per acre per year
- New limit: Maximum 1 pound per acre per year
- Why this matters: Less dicamba in the environment means less potential for harm to plants, wildlife, and water
Limited Number of Applications
- Only 2 applications allowed per season (down from 4 total applications previously)
- Each application limited to 0.5 pounds per acre
- Reduces total exposure to the environment
Stopping Volatility
Volatility Protection Doubled
- Old requirement: 20 ounces of volatility reduction agent per acre
- New requirement: 40 ounces per acre
- Why this matters: These agents stop dicamba from turning into vapor and drifting for hours or days after application—one of the main causes of off-target damage
How it works: Volatility reduction agents chemically bind dicamba molecules so they stay where they're sprayed instead of evaporating into the air.
Temperature-Based Restrictions
No Spraying in Hot Weather
- Completely banned: When temperature will reach 95°F or higher
- Severely limited: When temperature will be 85-95°F (can only spray 50% of untreated acres, must wait 2 days before treating remaining acres)
- Why this matters: Heat dramatically increases volatility and drift risk
Mandatory Conservation Practices
Required on Every Treated Field
- Farmers must use proven conservation methods like buffer strips, cover crops, reduced soil tillage, or contour farming
- Must earn at least 3 mitigation "points" from EPA's conservation practices menu; in areas with endangered species, 6 points required
- Why this matters: These practices physically prevent dicamba from leaving fields in runoff or eroded soil
Examples of conservation practices:
- Vegetative buffer strips along field edges
- Cover crops that hold soil in place
- Contour farming that slows water flow
- Grassed waterways that filter runoff
Physical Barriers and Buffers
240-Foot Downwind Safety Buffer
- No spraying within 240 feet of the downwind edge of the field
- Creates physical distance between application and vulnerable areas
- Buffer can only be reduced if additional protections are used (like hooded sprayers)
Proximity Protections
- Cannot spray if dicamba-sensitive crops or plants are in downwind areas
- Protects neighboring farms and natural areas
- List of sensitive plants provided on every label
Weather and Timing Restrictions
When Spraying Is Prohibited:
- During temperature inversions (atmospheric condition that traps chemicals near the ground)
- Within 48 hours before expected rain
- When soil is saturated with water
- Within 1 hour after sunrise or after 2 hours before sunset
- Why each matters: Each condition is known to increase drift or off-target movement
Wind Requirements
Wind Must Be Just Right
- Required wind speed: 3-10 mph
- Too calm (below 3 mph): Creates risk of temperature inversions
- Too strong (above 10 mph): Increases drift
- Why this matters: Proper wind conditions help keep spray on target
Application Technique Requirements
Large Droplets Required
- Must use "coarse or coarser" spray droplets
- Larger, heavier droplets fall quickly to the target instead of drifting
Low Spray Height
- Spray release must be no higher than 2 feet above ground or crop canopy
- Reduces distance droplets can drift before reaching target
Drift Reduction Agents
- Required in every tank mix
- Creates larger, heavier droplets less likely to drift
Aerial Application Banned
- No crop dusting or helicopter spraying allowed
- Ground application only reduces drift risk
Tank Mixing Prohibition
- Cannot mix with ammonium sulfate products
- These products can increase volatility
Training and Certification
Only Trained Professionals
- Dicamba is a Restricted Use Pesticide
- Only certified applicators can use it
- Annual training required for all applicators
- Why this matters: Ensures applications are made by people who understand the risks and rules
Worker Protection
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- Required for loaders, mixers, handlers, and applicators
- Reduces direct contact with the product
24-Hour Restricted Entry
- No one can re-enter treated fields for 24 hours
- Protects workers and the public from exposure
Recordkeeping
Documentation Required for Every Application
- Must record every detail of each application
- Proves compliance with all label requirements
- Creates accountability trail
- Enables enforcement
Enforcement and Accountability
The label is the law. Every restriction on the label is a legal requirement under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). These aren't suggestions or guidelines, they're enforceable mandates with real consequences for those who violate them.
Violators face civil fines for failing to follow label directions, and knowing violations can result in criminal prosecution. Both EPA and state enforcement agencies actively monitor compliance and take violations seriously. When violations occur, they will be investigated and prosecuted, demonstrating the seriousness with which we treat these environmental and safety requirements.
Limited Approval with Ongoing Monitoring
This approval is limited to the 2026 and 2027 growing seasons only. This is not a permanent registration. This limited timeframe gives us a clear checkpoint to evaluate how these protections are working in the real world. During these two seasons, we'll be closely monitoring incident reports of off-target damage, environmental monitoring data, compliance with label requirements, and the real-world performance of all restrictions.
After two growing seasons, EPA will comprehensively review all collected data. Based on that evidence, we will either allow continued use with current or stronger restrictions, adjust restrictions based on what we've learned, or revoke approval entirely if the protections aren't working as intended.
If new information emerges showing that risks aren't adequately controlled, EPA has the authority to act immediately.
Our Scientific Review Process
Gold-Standard Science and Radical Transparency
From day one of this review, EPA committed to gold-standard science and radical transparency. We conducted a thorough pesticide evaluation, using the best available data and reviewing hundreds of publicly available independent, peer-reviewed studies and real-world field results to conduct a comprehensive human health and ecological risk assessment. This included research from health advocates, academic experts, and non-industry sources showing potential links between high occupational exposures and certain cancers. While these studies involved pesticide applicators with decades of intensive exposure, not typical consumers, EPA took these studies seriously, carefully considered them in our risk assessments, and built extra protections into the registration to reduce worker contact with the product.
EPA's analysis found no unreasonable risk to human health and the environment from OTT dicamba use when applied according to label directions. However, EPA recognizes that previous drift issues created legitimate concerns, and designed these new label restrictions to directly address them, including cutting the amount of dicamba that can be used annually in half, doubling required safety agents, requiring conservation practices to protect endangered species, and restricting applications during high temperatures when exposure and volatility risks increase.
This determination supports a time limited approval covering only the next two growing seasons and will be subject to further review.
