Here we go again. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to repeat a mistake it’s already made twice; a mistake seven years of experience and data indicate was disastrous for United States agriculture; a mistake federal courts have twice struck down (in 2020 noting “EPA had failed to examine how “dicamba use would tear the social fabric of farming communities,” and in 2024 outlining massive damage to stakeholders).

For background on this dicamba disaster, I recommend checking out press releases from the Center for Food Safety and the Center for Biological Diversity.

But all hope is not lost yet. EPA is still accepting public comments on use of dicamba on genetically engineered dicamba-tolerant cotten and soybeans, but only through tomorrow, September 6, 2025 (until 11:59PM EDT).

You can submit your own comment directly with EPA here.

Or, you could simply (and quickly) submit a pre-written comment through the Center for Food Safety’s petition, which that organization will then submit to EPA.

Here is the text of the pre-written comment:

“I am a supporter of the Center for Food Safety and am writing to oppose EPA’s proposed re-registration of dicamba pesticide products for use on genetically engineered cotton and soybeans. This decision threatens to perpetuate one of the most damaging pesticides in U.S. agricultural history. 

Federal courts have twice vacated EPA’s dicamba registrations—in 2020 and again in 2024—finding the approvals unlawful. These judicial decisions were based on EPA’s failure to adequately assess dicamba’s environmental and social impacts. Rather than addressing the fundamental problems identified by the courts, EPA is proposing to re-register the same problematic pesticide with even weaker restrictions. 

Since dicamba’s introduction for use on genetically engineered crops in 2016, the pesticide has caused widespread agricultural and environmental destruction. The USDA estimates that up to 15 million acres of soybeans were damaged by dicamba drift in 2018 alone. This represents the worst herbicide damage in U.S. agricultural history. And it’s not just soybeans. Orchards, vegetable farms, home gardens, native plants, and wildlife refuges across the Midwest and South have experienced serious injury. Dicamba damages flowering plants that pollinators require for pollen and nectar, and has contributed to catastrophic honeybee colony losses while also undoubtedly impacting wild pollinators. Small and family farmers are made to bear the brunt of dicamba damage.   

Rather than strengthening protections, EPA’s current proposal actually loosens the already inadequate restrictions. The proposal eliminates application cutoff dates and removes time-of-day restrictions that provided some protection against volatility. EPA’s own 2021 report acknowledged that previous application restrictions had failed and that dicamba continued to cause extensive damage to crops and natural areas. 

I respectfully request that EPA deny the proposed dicamba re-registration and work with farmers to develop truly sustainable approaches to weed management that don’t threaten rural communities and ecosystems. 

Thank you for considering my comments.”

And thank YOU for taking a minute to take this easy action, for the sake of the safety and economic health of US agriculture.