The 9th circuit court issued a scathing rebuke of the EPA in its overturning of the agency’s approval of Monsanto’s (now owned by Bayer) XtendiMax dicamba based herbicide. You can read the actual decision at https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2020/06/03/19-70115.pdf
It is a very interesting document. Considering how generally dry and dull documents like these are, this one is actually pretty interesting. It is a scathing report on just how bad the EPA has become.
Basically the EPA downplayed, ignored entirely, dismissed, or never seriously examined known issues with the herbicide. It dismissed or ignored reports of serious problems with the herbicide drifting over long distances. It ignored or dismissed reports of crop damage caused by the herbicide, calling them “alleged”. It vastly underestimated the actual amount of damage the herbicide was causing, completely ignoring continued reports by scientists, universities, farmers and others concerning the extent of the damage. It substantially understated or even ignored entirely the risks posed by use of the product. Where it did acknowledge damage was being done, it claimed that the damage was being over reported based solely on the word of Monsanto, the company that made the stuff.
Basically the entire document is a graphic illustration of how the EPA totally failed to do its job properly.
Anyway, as of June 3, 2020, EPA certification for the dicamba blend from Monsanto and two other vendors has been revoked and supposedly it is now illegal to use the stuff at all. And while a lot of farmers and others who have had their crops, orchards and ornamental plants killed or damaged by the stuff are a bit relieved, you can be damn sure that this isn’t going to be the last of it. Bayer is, of course, going to immediately appeal the decision. And as for EPA itself, it’s been virtually useless for years already, with a lot of the higher ups being former employees of the very businesses it is supposed to regulate. Same is true over at USDA and most other government regulatory agencies.
grouchyfarmer 
This country is such a mess.
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It is, alas. The government seems to exist not so much to protect the rights and welfare of the citizens, but to preserve the profits of the corporations that funnel millions of dollars into the pockets of politicians.
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What is a solution to these herbicides when there’s just too many mouths to feed and so many invasive species currently thriving in the entire country? We try not to use anything here at the house, but man, sometimes I just have to
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That is a very, very good question and one that is going to have to be answered sooner rather than later. Frankly there is so much wrong with modern agriculture that I wouldn’t even know where or how to begin reforming the whole system. I’m not even sure if it can be fixed without causing serious economic and social problems to be honest.
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