Drastic changes in the regulation of agricultural biotechnology products might lie ahead for many no-tillers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering an overhaul of the regulations to include consideration of the environmental impact of biotech crops. Since 1987, when the USDA began regulating biotech products, the regulations emphasized only biotech’s effect on human health.

On June 16, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered Gauntlet, a new pre-emergence soybean herbicide from the FMC Agricultural Products Group. This herbicide combines sulfentrazone, the active ingredient in Authority, with cloransulam-methyl, the active ingredient in FirstRate, a herbicide which is manufactured and marketed by Dow AgroSciences.

With the 1999 planting season right around the corner, no-tillers are finalizing no-till weed control strategies. And with many new compounds coming on the market, it’s no easy task.

For the first time, the maximum labeled rate of cyan­azine will fall to 3 pounds of active ingredient per acre in 1998. As a result of an agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency and DuPont, products like Bladex, Extrazine II, Cy-Pro and Cy-Pro AT that contain this ingredient are being phased out.