Over-the-Top Dicamba

2026 Dicamba Update
On February 6, the EPA approved federal registrations for the following dicamba products: Engenia®, Stryax™, and Tavium®. The new registrations are for over-the-top (OTT) use on dicamba-tolerant (DT) soybeans for the 2026 and 2027 growing seasons. Mitigation measures are required to reduce drift, minimize volatility, and protect ecosystems. As in previous years, state specific restrictions will be in place for OTT applications of Engenia®, Stryax™, and Tavium® in Minnesota. (See full MDA press release)

Dicamba is an important tool in combating herbicide resistant weeds in Dicamba Tolerant (DT) soybeans. However, products containing dicamba can cause serious damage to non-dicamba-tolerant soybeans and to other sensitive crops and non-crop plants.

On February 6, 2026, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered three dicamba products for postemergence application in dicamba-tolerant (DT) soybean and dicamba-tolerant cotton, commonly called over the top (OTT). The registrations expire on February 6, 2028 and apply to the following products:

This OTT use of dicamba herbicides provides another post-emergence control option for broadleaf weeds in DT soybeans in Minnesota. This is important for control of weeds resistant to glyphosate and other herbicides.

Dicamba products registered for OTT applications to DT soybeans are “Restricted Use Pesticides” (RUP). If you are planning to use one of the RUP dicamba products, you must attend label-mandated auxin/dicamba training offered by dicamba registrants (BASF, Bayer, Syngenta).

Other federal requirements for the OTT dicamba products that appear on the labels include:

Requiring both an approved pH-buffering agent, also known as a volatility reducing agent (VRA) and a drift reduction agent (DRA), be tank mixed with dicamba products prior to all applications;
Requiring a downwind buffer of 240 feet that may be decreased only if additional label-approved mitigations are used (hooded sprayers, downwind windbreaks, etc.).
Additional recordkeeping items.

Additional Information on New Dicamba Products

2026 Minnesota Specific Restrictions

Cutoff Date and Cutoff Temperature

The MDA worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the registrants of the three OTT dicamba products, Engenia®, Stryax™, and Tavium®to include the following restrictions on the product labels.

Cutoff date: Do not apply south of interstate 94 after June 12. Do not apply north of interstate 94 after June 30.
Cutoff temperature for the entire state: Do not apply if the air temperature of the field at the time of application is over 85 degrees Fahrenheit or if the National Weather Service’s forecasted high temperature for the nearest available location for the day exceeds 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Forecasted temperature must be recorded at the start of the application.

Reference to commercial products or trade names here or elsewhere on this site is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement is implied.

Labels

Minnesota Counties with OTT Dicamba PULAs

Currently, fifteen Minnesota counties (Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Jackson, Kittson, Lincoln, Mower, Norman, Pennington, Pipestone, Polk, Red Lake, Rock, Roseau, and Steele) have Pesticide Use Limitation Areas (PULA) with endangered species requirements for OTT dicamba herbicide application on DT soybeans. If your intended application area is in one of these counties, and located in a PULA, you will be required to have an additional 3 points (for a total of 6 points) of runoff/erosion mitigations. To determine if your intended pesticide application area is located in a PULA, you must check EPA's Endangered Species Protection Bulletins for the field/area in which you want to apply the product.

OTT Dicamba Endangered Species Act Requirements

Labels for these OTT Dicamba product contain Endangered Species Language consistent with what is presented on the MDA's Pesticides and the Endangered Species Act webpages with several exceptions:

OTT dicamba products may not be applied if sensitive plants are planted on adjacent downwind fields.
Buffer reduction options are limited to those listed on the label. Other reduction options listed on the Mitigation Menu website are not eligible for OTT Dicamba products and the Mitigation Menu should by used for information and description of the qualifying practices list on the label.
Managed areas that can be considered part of the drift buffer are limited to those listed on the label.
Visit the MDA's Pesticides and the Endangered Species Act webpages for more information

2026 Dicamba Update