Prinsburg – Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that farmers are no longer allowed to use multiple dicamba based herbicides. Rep. Tim Miller (Republican-Prinsburg) offered his reaction to the court’s ruling.
“This decision by the ninth circuit is incredibly frustrating. I strongly disagree with the court’s ruling,” said Rep. Miller. “The science does not back up the court’s ruling. We know that genetically engineered soybeans resist dicamba herbicide. The soybeans are not affected. That is why dicamba is safe to use for killing weeds in soybean crops. Unfortunately, the court does not seem to have taken this into account.”
Dicamba herbicide was first approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2016 under the Obama Administration. That approval was reaffirmed in 2018 under the Trump Administration. However, the court’s ruling vacates the EPA’s approval of the pesticide.
“This is not a partisan issue. This is just about letting farmers run their farms,” said Rep. Miller. “Farmers are terrific stewards of their land and their crops. Furthermore, farmers have already been relying on these products for several years. Minnesota produces the third most soybeans of all fifty states. The soybean industry is a significant part of our economy, and I fear that the court’s decision will harm the farming community.”
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