Today, Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn and the Missouri Department of Agriculture issued the following statement related to the recent court decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California:

“The dicamba herbicide brands XtendiMax, Engenia and FeXapan are still registered for sale and use within the state of Missouri and will be treated as such until further guidance is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This interpretation may be updated at any time due to further enforcement guidance from EPA. Our team has worked over the last 36 hours in communication with EPA to request further legal clarification on what the court’s decision means for our state. That communication includes a written inquiry to the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs asking if an immediate implementation of the Existing Stocks Policy within their typical Cancellation Order process would allow farmers to use the technology they’ve already invested in. We see this as a reasonable resolution to the current legal uncertainty and the most practical way to legally dispose of the pesticide. To that end, the Department will use enforcement discretion and will not issue enforcement actions for the sale and use of these three products at this time; however, the Department will continue to investigate complaints of off-target movement.

“Our team acknowledges the precarious position the court’s decision puts farmers, agriculture retailers and academia in. For the last three years, Missouri farmers specifically have dealt with historic drought, flooding, trade uncertainty and now market volatility due to COVID-19. An overnight decision making this tool illegal is not something that should be done mid-growing season. We call on the EPA to work with the United States Department of Agriculture due to their coordinating biotechnology role."