News in brief

Move up dicamba cutoff, group asks

Audubon Arkansas has asked the state Plant Board to scrap dicamba regulations it approved in December and move this year’s cutoff date for use of the herbicide from May 25 to April 15.

The Plant Board, a division of the state Department of Agriculture, will consider the petition March 10.

The board had an April 15 cutoff for dicamba’s use in 2018, angering farmers who wanted to use the weed-killer deeper into the season. A May 25 cutoff was adopted for 2019 and, again, for this season. The latest regulations took effect Jan. 2.

An April 15 cutoff provides better protection of vegetation susceptible to the herbicide, Dan Scheiman, Audubon’s bird conservation director, said in the petition, which, by law, must be considered by the Plant Board.

Audubon’s petition also suggests, if the April 15 cutoff is rejected, that the board prohibit dicamba’s use when temperatures reach 80 degrees and higher. It also asks for a 2-mile buffer between fields applied with dicamba and state and federal research stations, certified organic crops, specialty crops, and crops in the process of being certified organic. It also asks for a 1-mile buffer to protect soybean varieties not dicamba tolerant and a half-mile buffer “for public recreation areas, cemeteries, churches, private property and other areas with sensitive plants.”

— Stephen Steed

DoorDash takes step toward possible IPO

NEW YORK — Food delivery giant DoorDash has taken a first formal step toward a stock market debut.

The San Francisco-based company announced Thursday that is has filed with the Securities Exchange Commission outlining its proposed public stock offering. There was no proposed date for an initial offering, which could be a long way off. Last year, rival Postmates delayed plans for an IPO, citing unfavorable market conditions.

DoorDash Inc. has overtaken Grubhub as the top digital food delivery company in the U.S., according to data analytics firm Second Measure, capturing 38% of monthly food delivery sales in January, compared to 31% for Grubhub.

Analysts have said both DoorDash and Postmates need money-raising options as the food delivery business grows more competitive.

— The Associated Press

State index’s close is lowest since May

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Thursday at 395.36, down 15.72, its lowest point since May 31.

“Selling momentum accelerated with equities closing near their lows as the S&P 500 Index has now registered a decline of more than 12% following new record highs set on Feb. 19,” said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business on 02/28/2020