If you haven’t attended training yet for applying dicamba herbicides, are you going to? Do you even know if you should go? Dave Scott, pesticide administrator with the Office of the Indiana State Chemist, recently answered questions from Indiana Prairie Farmer to clear up confusion on this topic.

In Indiana, to be able to apply one of the three new dicamba products on Xtend soybeans, you must attend training offered through Purdue University Extension. Find a list of training sessions at oisc.purdue.edu.

Does training apply to all dicamba products, or only the three new products for Xtend soybeans? You only need training if you’ll apply XtendiMax, FeXapan or Engenia. The training is a federal label requirement added by EPA.

Are all herbicides with more than 6.5% dicamba now restricted-use pesticides in Indiana? Yes. This means you must have a license to purchase these products. You don’t have to attend the training before you can buy a new herbicide for Xtend soybeans. You must have the training before you apply it.

If you drive the sprayer and follow rules allowing you to apply under someone else’s license, do you still have to attend dicamba training if you’re going to apply the new products? Yes, absolutely. Everyone who will be involved in the application process, from the supervisor to the driver who operates the sprayer, must attend the training.

Does a person attending training get a special certificate after completion? No. We’re keeping a list of everyone who attends. It’s the attendee’s responsibility to record training as part of their record keeping for restricted-use products.

If a farmer in a neighboring state also farms and sprays Xtend soybeans with new products in Indiana, must he or she attend Indiana dicamba training? Yes. Different states have chosen different ways to meet the training requirement. In Indiana, we chose to do it through Extension. Our training will be different from herbicide-manufacturer-developed training being utilized in other states.  

Say you live in Ohio and want to apply Status, a corn herbicide containing dicamba, in Indiana. It is now restricted-use. Do you have to get an Indiana certified pesticide applicator’s license? Yes. Status and other dicamba herbicides are now state-restricted-use in Indiana. However, there is still reciprocity for licensing. Odds are the person already has a license in Ohio if he has bought and applied atrazine. He is covered if he applies any restricted-use pesticide in Indiana, other than the three new dicamba products which require training, with an Ohio license.

What if an Indiana grower farms in a surrounding state? Will he or she have to attend dicamba training in that state? He or she must ask officials in the state where they will apply the new products. They certainly need training in Indiana to apply them on Indiana farms.

Why did Indiana decide to require training put on by Extension rather than companies that make the products? Fred Whitford, director of Purdue Pesticide Programs, and Purdue’s Extension educators were willing to take on the challenge. Our training will focus more on how hard it is to meet label requirements, on volatility issues and on what you must do to comply. Frankly, we don’t think it’s fair to producers if we don’t cover these topics. It’s very effective technology against weeds, and we want to provide every opportunity to help producers apply it right so the technology can stay around.