UACES Facebook Circuit Court denies EPA effort to vacate Enlist Duo label; ’16 growing season likely unaffected as growers wait on China trade approval
skip to main content

Circuit Court denies EPA effort to vacate Enlist Duo label; ’16 growing season likely unaffected as growers wait on China trade approval

By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Jan. 27, 2016

Fast Facts:

  • Federal court denies EPA petition to vacate Dow herbicide label
  • Enlist Duo currently registered for corn, soybeans in 15 states, including Arkansas
  • Technology still awaiting China trade approval

 (306 words)

LITTLE ROCK — A federal court’s decision to deny a petition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to vacate registration for a new herbicide technology in corn and soybeans could prove a boon to Arkansas growers — but not for a while, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture experts said Wednesday.

This week, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the EPA’s motion to vacate the registration of Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist Duo in corn and soybeans. The motion, filed in November, was based on then-recent information from Dow that “suggests two active ingredients could result in greater toxicity to non-target plants,” according to an EPA statement issued in late November.

While the decision puts the technology back in the hands of Arkansas growers, producers around the state are still holding their breath for trade approval with one of U.S. agriculture’s biggest customers: China.

Tom Barber, extension weed science with the Division of Agriculture, said field use for Enlist Duo is still a year away.

“With soybeans, we really need China to agree on trade with this technology before we use it on a wide spread of acreage,” Barber said. “There will still be ‘seed beans’ grown for seed production, to be used in 2017. But unless something changes, I think 2017 will be the big launch year for Enlist Duo in beans, if not later.”

Both Barber and Bob Scott, extension weed scientist for the Division of Agriculture, said it was difficult to tell if the legal back-and-forth over the technology will ultimately affect the “China approval” process. The process has taken three to five years for trade approval on other technologies, including Bayer’s Liberty Link LL55 beans.

“We’re just in a waiting game now,” Barber said.

For more information on crop pesticides and their use, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent, or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

 

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

# # #

 

Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Dir. of Communication Services
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2126
mhightower@uada.edu

Related Links

Top