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A US court has ruled that the EPA broke the law when it approved dicamba-based weedkilling pesticids from Bayer, BASF and one other organisation, in spite of evidence of the products damaging effect on crops and the environment. The courts decision invalidates the registration of dicamba products produced by Monsanto, which is owned by Bayer, and makes it illegal for farmers to use these goods. The court states that it had to cancel the EPA's approval of dicamba products, as it strayed too far from the agency's duty to assess the dangers posed by the 'new use' of dicamba.
Dicamba can spread over long distances and injure and kill crops and other plants it reaches. Since Monsanto introduced the new dicamba herbicide and crops, farmers have filed complaints with state agricultural officials, stating that the products have spread and damaged several million acres in at least twelve states. Worse still, Monsanto was aware that this would happen when it launched its diacamba products, as revealed in a leaked report funded by the company. Yet, in spite of this knowledge, Monsanto decided to go ahead with the launch. The EPA then downplayed the risks associate with the dicamba products, presumably to satisfy the corporation and its shareholders, as the Trump Administration has spent the last three and a half years in the pockets of big corporations.