By Tracy Sayler

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Prairie Grains is the official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat, Inc., and the Minnesota Barley Growers Association.

Leaders of the Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers, North Dakota Grain Growers Association, and South Dakota Wheat Inc., met recently with Jim Jones, head of the registration division of the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs, in Washington D.C. They urged Jones to ensure that Folicur, a foliar fungicide manufactured by the Bayer Corporation, will be labeled for use by wheat and barley growers in the region next summer.

Research at North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota indicates that Folicur applied at anthesis or grain flowering helps to suppress scab in wheat and barley, boosting yield and improving quality of harvested grain.

The EPA has granted Folicur a Section 18 label the past two years, which is a temporary product registration for a specific production problem or pest and weather-related epidemic. NDGGA, MAWG, and SDWI leaders were hoping EPA would grant Folicur a Section 3 label for 1999, which is full federal label approval.

However, it appears that a full label won’t be granted until 2000, and that Folicur will be granted another Section 18 for the 1999 crop year.

"The product is stuck in a backlog of the EPA’s review process," says Richard Magnusson, a Roseau, Minn., producer and MAWG board member. "We were told that the EPA plans to approve labels for 15 new products in 1999, and label amendments of 100 existing products for additional or expanded crop uses. Folicur won’t be one of them. I don’t think they fully realized the effectiveness of this product on scab, since it’s not higher on the EPA’s priority list. It’s frustrating that we won’t get a full label for Folicur in the 1999 crop season, but at least we should get a Section 18."

Nevertheless, state agriculture officials must first request the exemption, a process that requires a needs assessment and documentation by plant scientists, then official EPA approval.

"We have been promised a Section 18 for Folicur, but we won’t rest until we get it. The manufacturer needs to know how much product to have on hand for the next crop season, and producers also need to know its availability as a treatment option so they can make production plans. We need to know early in the season whether Folicur will receive a Section 18, so EPA’s approval timeliness is going to be important," says Jim Ostlie, a Northwood, N.D. producer and NDGGA board member.

The EPA is considering extending the Section 18 label expiration to two years, Jones told NDGGA, MAWG, and SDWI leaders. A Section 18 now expires after one year and must be renewed annually.

Jones and the grain leaders also discussed the possibility of allowing "NAFTA labels" for pesticide products. In reference to the North American Free Trade Agreement, grain leaders want more harmonization of pesticide labels. A NAFTA label would allow, for example, a wild oat herbicide to receive the same label in the United States and Canada. Producers in the United States would be able to purchase the product in Canada, and vice versa.

"Cross-border harmonization of pesticide rules and cost is probably one of the biggest issues for producers in the Northern Plains right now," says Chet Edinger, a Mitchell, S.D. producer and SDWI president.