Arkansas Dicamba Decision Appealed

An Arkansas judge recently made a decision to allow six Arkansas farmers to use dicamba on cotton and soybeans during the 2018 growing season. A DTN report says the state’s attorney general is now appealing that decision. The state will ask the court to halt that decision until the appeal is decided. The group of farmers has been dubbed the “Arkansas 6” on social media. They hit the public spotlight after suing the Arkansas Plant Board because it refused to amend the state’s ban on dicamba use, which runs from April 15 to October 15. Judge Tim Fox dismissed the farmers’ lawsuit on Good Friday but then decided to declare the ban null and void for these six farmers, after ruling that the dismissal violated their due process rights. The Arkansas Attorney General immediately filed an appeal to the state’s Supreme Court. "Judge Fox acknowledged that the Plant Board is immune to suit but decided to exempt the plaintiffs from the Plant Board's rule," said Jessica Ray, Arkansas Attorney General. “This is a serious legal error, and we have asked the Arkansas Supreme Court for review. The Plant Board's rule preventing the spraying of dicamba was lawful."