Missouri Ag Department lifts temporary halt to dicamba use

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Missouri Department of Agriculture has lifted a temporary halt to the use and sales of products labeled for agricultural use that contain the herbicide dicamba, saying it's satisfied by new safeguards involving the chemical.

The department had issued the ban last Friday, citing more than 130 complaints that the chemical had drifted onto farm land, damaging thousands of acres of crops.

The order for Xtendimax, Engenia and FeXapan herbicides was lifted Thursday after special provisions and safeguards for using the technology were developed and approved with the herbicide makers' cooperation.

Farmers have complained that illegal spraying of dicamba has drifted and damaged crops that have not been genetically altered to tolerate it. Soybeans are particularly sensitive to dicamba, but complaints have also involved cotton, peaches, tomatoes and melons.