US Seed Sellers Push for Limits on Monsanto, BASF Weed Killer

Rodrigo Werle, a weed scientist at the University of Wisconsin inspects soybean fields as part of the university's research into whether the weed killer Dicamba drifted away from where it was sprayed in Arlington, Wisconsin, Aug. 2, 2018. REUTERS/Tom Polansek

CHICAGO—America’s two biggest independent seed sellers, Beck’s Hybrids and Stine Seed said they are pushing U.S. environmental regulators to bar farmers from spraying dicamba weed killer during upcoming summers in a potential blow to Bayer AG’s Monsanto Co.

Limiting spraying of the chemical to the spring season, before crops are planted, would prevent farmers from using the herbicide on dicamba-resistant soybeans that Monsanto engineered. The seeds are sold by companies including Beck’s and Stine.