New Illinois Analysis Shows What's at Stake if Farmers Lose Access to Glyphosate

What would happen if one of America’s most widely-used crop protection tools suddenly became unavailable?

A new analysis from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Illinois Soybean Association helps answer that question.

According to the research, Illinois corn and soybean farmers could lose up to $609 million every year—representing a 3.6% loss in annual farm revenue—if glyphosate were banned in the state. The analysis also projects lower yields, higher production costs and ripple effects throughout Illinois’ agricultural economy.

Those findings reinforce something farmers already know: glyphosate is one of the most important tools they rely on to grow food and fuel, efficiently, sustainably and affordably.

The Costs Go Beyond the Farm Gate

Illinois ranks among the nation’s leading producers of both corn and soybeans, as well as the top producer of specialty crops like pumpkins and horseradish. When farmers face higher costs and lower productivity, those impacts don’t stop at the farm gate—they can ripple throughout the food system.

Independent analysis conducted by Aimpoint Research found that as production costs increase, consumers could also feel the effects. The report concludes that higher costs for crops such as corn and soybeans would place upward pressure on food prices—particularly for meat, dairy, and eggs, which rely on those crops as feed. At a time when three in four people say they’ve changed how they shop because of rising prices, and a third have bought fewer groceries in the past year, even modest increases in food costs matter for American families.

Illinois Offers a Real-World Case Study

While the University of Illinois analysis focuses specifically on one state, its conclusions reflect challenges that would ripple into other states as well if farmers lost access to this essential crop protection tool.

Illinois is one of the country’s largest corn and soybean-producing states, making it an important example of how restrictions on glyphosate could affect agricultural production, rural economies and food affordability.

The University of Illinois analysis adds to a growing body of research showing that restricting access to glyphosate would carry an impactful economic, agronomic and environmental cost. Ensuring farmers retain access to effective crop protection tools remains essential to keeping American agriculture productive, resilient and sustainable.