News

At the urging of the Ohio Soybean Association and other state and national organizations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reviewed and approved the use of Enlist One and Enlist Duo in 134 additional counties, including several counties in Ohio, providing growers with additional weed management options for the 2022 growing season.

Enlist One and Enlist Duo, two herbicides used to control weeds in conventional and genetically-modified corn, cotton, and soybean crops, can now be used in all counties of Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.

In its decision in January reauthorizing use for seven years, the EPA had prohibited the use of Enlist One and Enlist Duo in more than 200 counties, causing confusion for many growers who had not been warned about the decision. The Ohio Soybean Association, along with Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and Ohio Corn and Wheat, sent a letter to the EPA that called on the agency to remove county-level Endangered Species Act (ESA) use prohibitions on the Enlist registrations for 2022. The letter also called on EPA to lift prohibitions in counties where endangered species thought to be present under the registration are confirmed not present.

“This is a big win for farmers in Ohio and across the United States,” said Patrick Knouff, OSA President and Shelby County soybean farmer. “Many farmers in the restricted counties had already bought their Enlist product and seed for the 2022 growing season when the announcement was made in early January, and it would have been difficult for farmers to obtain new seed or chemicals this close to planting. Thanks to the advocacy efforts of our membership and leadership, all Ohio farmers will have access to this tool for the 2022 growing season.”

Regardless of whether Enlist One and Enlist Duo are applied in a county that contains listed species or not, all Enlist One and Enlist Duo applicators — in all 34 states where these products are registered for use — must follow label requirements that reduce pesticide spray drift and runoff.

To view the registration documents for Enlist One and Enlist Duo, go to docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2021-0957. To learn more about these products, read EPA’s Q&A.