By Jesse Newman 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (June 5, 2020).

Bayer AG was dealt a setback in its efforts to provide farmers with new weapons against hard-to-kill weeds, after a federal appeals court vacated the Trump administration's approval of a controversial weedkiller made by the agribusiness giant.

The U.S. Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday that the Environmental Protection Agency in 2018 failed to acknowledge or significantly understated risks posed by three herbicides, including Bayer's XtendiMax, whose active ingredient is dicamba, when it reapproved the sprays for use on U.S. farms.

Bayer said that it will continue working to make sure farmers have access to the spray. "We strongly disagree with the ruling and are assessing our options," the company said, adding that it would work to minimize impact on its customers if the ruling stands.

The ruling comes as seed-and-pesticide makers vie to offer farmers a way to stop weeds resistant to glyphosate, the world's most actively used herbicide, which is marketed under Bayer's Roundup brand and other names. It is a boost to rival Corteva Inc., which is working to hasten the rollout of its own new seed and herbicide spray combination, called Enlist, which doesn't use dicamba.

Bayer shares fell 3.8% on Thursday, while Corteva shares climbed 4%.

XtendiMax, marketed by Monsanto Co. before Bayer acquired the company in 2018, was designed to kill weeds that can choke out soybean and cotton plants. But farmers and academics said the herbicide damaged neighboring crops because its active ingredient is prone to evaporating off plants, drifting on wind and shriveling crops that weren't developed to resist the weedkiller.

The court faulted the EPA for disregarding evidence that showed dicamba had caused substantial damage, and for failing to recognize that certain applications of the herbicides had "torn apart the social fabric of many farming communities" where farmers who used the spray have had disputes with neighbors who didn't.

In 2016, an Arkansas farmer was shot and killed in what authorities said appeared to be a dispute over dicamba damage to crops.

An EPA spokesman said the agency was reviewing the decision and would move promptly to address the court's directive.

The EPA in 2018 said it would continue to allow farmers to spray crops with new versions of XtendiMax, while tightening restrictions on how and when it could be applied. That decision was a win for Bayer, which also sells soybean and cotton seeds genetically engineered to withstand the herbicide.

Farm and environmental groups including the National Family Farm Coalition, Center for Food Safety and Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the EPA, arguing that the agency's re-approval of three dicamba-based herbicides violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Endangered Species Act.

"Today's decision is a massive win for farmers and the environment," said George Kimbrell of the Center for Food Safety, who acted as lead counsel in the case.

Steve Smith, senior director of agriculture for Indiana tomato company Red Gold Inc., welcomed the decision after seeking stricter dicamba restrictions for years.

"We were always very concerned about being able to supply our customers if we lost some of our crop, so that's a big relief."

Write to Jesse Newman at jesse.newman@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 05, 2020 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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