*Information provided by Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
As pesticide dealers and applicators and crop farmers may know, rules about using herbicides containing isoxaflutole have been changing in the past couple of years. Let’s try to clarify where you stand with regard to these products.
First, a little background. When the Environmental Protection Agency registered these products in 1998, there were concerns about the potential to contaminate both surface and groundwater, and potential effects on non-target crops, including vegetables. Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan opted to require the manufacturer, Aventis CropScience, to perform additional studies to demonstrate these products could be used without causing unintended harm. Ultimately, Aventis chose not to register the products in those states.
The current manufacturer, Bayer CropScience, approached the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection in 2013 to revisit the issue. Considering use histories in other states and some additional research, DATCP agreed to allow use of isoxaflutole in eight counties in 2016, with some added restrictions and water monitoring. This year, the list has been expanded to 12, due to difficulties in finding suitable groundwater monitoring sites in the original eight counties.
While the product may be sold by licensed pesticide dealers anywhere in Wisconsin, it can be applied only in these 12 counties. Additional restrictions are required within these 12 counties, so be sure to follow both the product label and the Wisconsin product bulletin: Columbia, Fond du Lac, Jefferson, Sauk, Dane, Grant, Lafayette, Walworth, Dodge, Green, Rock, Waukesha.
The only isoxaflutole products registered for use in Wisconsin are Corvus Herbicide® and Balance Flexx®. Other isoxaflutole products cannot be used in Wisconsin. A copy of the product labels including the Wisconsin product bulletin is available at https://www.kellysolutions.com/wi/, where you can search for pesticide product information.
These are the restrictions on use in the 12 counties:
- No application on sites classified as coarse-textured soil (sand, loamy sand and sandy loam) if the depth to groundwater is less than 25 feet, or is unknown.
- Application only from April 1 through July 31.
- No application within 66 feet of points where field runoff enters perennial streams and rivers. If the land is highly erodible, this 66-foot buffer must be planted to crop or seeded to grass.
- No application within 200 feet of natural or impounded lakes and reservoirs.
Additional studies are also occurring in Minnesota and Michigan.
For more information, call 608-224-4503 or email stan.senger@wi.gov.
Cherie Witkowski says
We do not need anymore contaminants in Fox Lake. My question is why would Datcp allow pesticides to be tested so close to the lake? This is NOT right! We have enough phosphates and nitrates coming into Fox Lake. We do not need other chemicals released into our wells or lake. This is NOT OK!
Kathleen Rydquist says
In the Fox Lake (Dodge County) area the site selected for using and monitoring an herbicide containing isoxaflutole is near our lake and across the street from a residential area with wells that are in some cases shallow and up to 80 years old and maybe older. This area also contains fractured limestone underneath minimal soils. DATCP is authorizing the use of a known carcinogen that could contaminate our groundwater. Besides the health issues this could cause our population, there is also moderate toxicity to bluegills and daphnia in our lake. The article states that 12 counties are involved in this “monitoring” effort, but only names 11. Missing is Dane County. Since Dane County was probably the only place this project was officially “noticed” (as in public notice) and people were aware of the potential groundwater pollution in their area. Was Dane County removed because it wouldn’t look very good for the home county of our State Capitol to have “self polluted” groundwater?
We do not need a cancer causing chemical destroying our drinking water supply. It seems that there are 11 counties in southern Wisconsin having our groundwater quietly polluted by BayerCropScience and DATCP. Thanks a lot!
Tim Meekma says
Datcp did not do their homework. One of the farms applying this poison is located adjacent to Fox Lake, a 2,600 lake in Dodge County. The farm field gradient is erodible and the farmer has been fined for spreading manure which runs off to the lake. He has been guilty of this for many years. He does not practice any soil management skills such as buffers, cover crops, or respect for his neighbors.