STILLWATER, Okla. (May 21, 2018) – Federally mandated dicamba training is now available via video at Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service county offices.
Producers and applicators who have not yet completed the required training can view the material on video at any of the state’s 77 county Extension offices.
While there is one video per county office, multiple people may watch at the same time.
The video, approximately one hour long, also is available in Spanish. There is no charge for the training.
To receive credit for completing the video training, applicators must fill out the sign-in sheet at the county office. The sign-in sheet will be forwarded to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, which will provide a new license. Noncertified applicators will receive a certificate.
Anyone planning to use specific dicamba herbicides labelled for the Roundup Ready Xtend Crop SystemTM for soybeans and cotton must complete federally mandated and ODAFF approved dicamba training before spraying these products this year.
“It doesn’t matter if someone is a certified applicator or driving the application equipment, they must be trained,” said Todd Baughman, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension summer crop weed specialist. “Even if someone completed training last year, they’re still required to go through the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry approved training this year.”
The mandatory training covers the new regulations, including how to work with these herbicides, which are now restricted-use products with extensive recordkeeping requirements, and best management practices for applying the herbicides.
Recently introduced to Oklahoma, the Xtend cropping system for cotton and soybeans allows over-the-top application of dicamba herbicides, which traditionally had not been the case until this newest technology was developed.
With that technology, three specific herbicides – XtendiMax, Engenia and FeXapan – were developed for this use that are lower volatility than the other dicamba products currently on the market.
While regulations went into effect last year with the introduction of the technology, issues with drift in several states led the Environmental Protection Agency and manufacturers to develop new regulations for 2018.
For more information about dicamba training, contact the nearest county Extension office. A directory of county Extension offices is available at countyext2.okstate.edu/.
