EPA reapproves dicamba despite drift damage concerns

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reapproved the herbicide dicamba for use on genetically modified soybeans and cotton for the 2026–27 seasons, even though the weedkiller has a long record of drifting off target and damaging neighboring crops, gardens and native plants.

Environmental and farm groups point out that dicamba’s volatility and drift have led to thousands of complaints and lawsuits — and that federal courts previously struck down EPA dicamba approvals in 2020 and 2024 over these harms. Critics say the new registration, while accompanied by updated label restrictions, doesn’t adequately protect farmers whose fields and livelihoods are repeatedly affected by drift.

The decision has reignited longstanding tensions between regulators, agribusiness interests, and farmers harmed by dicamba’s off-target movement — an issue highlighted as one of the “50 Ways Food and Farmers Are Being Attacked” that SOFAF has documented.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/08/epa-reapproves-contentious-weedkiller-dicamba