Illinois Director of Agriculture John Sullivan says the decision to extend the dicamba application deadline in Illinois from June 30th to July 15th was not taken lightly. “It was a very difficult decision because of obvious reasons.” Sullivan tells Brownfield the original deadline was put in place to avoid the use of dicamba during hot and humid weather when the product is most volatile, with the goal of minimizing misuse complaints. “The USDA (crop progress and condition) report came out on Monday and to see that less than half of the bean crop had been planted in Illinois as of that date was cause for great concern.” Sullivan says he was concerned that farmers facing delayed planting would use dicamba when conditions weren’t ideal, just to apply ahead of the deadline.
