When it’s time to spray dicamba herbicides over dicamba-tolerant soybeans, the custom applicators at the Helena outlet at Markle, Ind., will be ready. It’s part of Bill Bradford’s job to make sure these applications are carried out properly. Bradford is a certified crop adviser, as well as a salesman and agronomist for Helena, based in Markle.

“Waterhemp is here, and giant ragweed is still a big challenge,” Bradford says. “The problem with waterhemp is that it’s so prolific. Once even a few plants go through the combine, you have seed scattered across the field.”

Convincing customers that waterhemp is a tough competitor and requires special attention, including application of residual herbicides, is an educational process, Bradford says. He adds that it grows out of developing relationships with customers. Bradford was named Indiana CCA of the Year in 2017 by Indiana Farm Bureau and the Indiana CCA board of directors.

One of Bradford’s tasks is helping develop plans for dicamba application, field by field, as the time approaches. Helena applied the herbicide successfully for lots of customers last year and expects to do so again this year.

About three-fourths of the company’s soybean seed sales heading into the 2018 season were Xtend soybeans, Bradford says. He believes a large majority of those buying Xtend seed in his area intend to apply dicamba herbicides. Bradford sees an uptick in the number of farmers choosing to let the dealer apply dicamba this year instead of applying it themselves. 

Proper application
Bradford is aware of the problems that have occurred with dicamba applications in some areas, and says it’s a must to follow the label and apply the herbicides properly. The U.S. EPA will review its label this fall, and he says the industry can’t afford to lose access to the product.

“We really need [dicamba] for the weed control it offers on tough weeds like waterhemp,” Bradford says “If we suddenly don’t have it anymore, it will be a struggle keeping weeds under control in some of these fields.”

One thing Bradford does to help ensure proper applications is follow weather conditions closely as the time to spray approaches. He has a digital display in his office that can instantly show weather conditions at various National Weather Service locations. There are also apps that can provide information about expected weather conditions. BASF provided customers who attended training with a simple instrument to measure wind speed. It connects to a smartphone as well.

“Wind speed is a big deal for these applications,” Bradford says. “The label allows applications only between 3 and 10 miles per hour. It’s critical to follow the label.”

READY FOR SEASON: Bill Bradford says his company is ready to spray dicamba over dicamba-tolerant soybeans for customers. Monitoring weather conditions is a big part of doing this correctly.

One thing that helps his location is that Helena’s sprayers are equipped with chemical injection units. Instead of mixing chemicals in the spray tank on the sprayer, the chemical is injected into the spray mix outside of the tank.

“If we’re spraying a field with dicamba and wind speed goes outside the limits, we will stop,” he says. “It’s much easier and faster to change and spray a different product elsewhere with chemical injection units.

“Once weather is suitable again, we can return and make a new application to finish spraying dicamba in that field,” Bradford says.