EPA Proposing Approval for Herbicide Blocked by Court in 2024

The Environmental Protection Agency said dicamba poses no serious risk. Critics say the chemical can drift from a field and damage neighboring plants.

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 from where it was sprayed, in Arlington, Wis., on Aug. 2, 2018. Reuters/Tom Polansek

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing the approval of three products containing the weedkiller dicamba, the use of which was halted by a federal court in 2024. The agency claims dicamba does not pose a serious health or environmental risk.

Prior to the 2024 ruling, Cotton and soybean farmers used dicamba on crops that are genetically engineered to resist herbicide. Other farmers and environmental groups complained that the chemical drifted from where it was sprayed and damaged neighboring plants.