FAQs: Why Farmers Are Concerned About the Future of Crop Protection Tools
American agriculture is facing growing uncertainty around the crop protection tools farmers rely on every day. As debates over regulation, litigation, and food production continue to intensify, here are some of the most common questions about what’s at stake for farmers and the future of the U.S. food supply.
Q: Why is it a tough time for farmers right now?
A: Farmers are facing one of the toughest economic environments in decades. Input costs are near record highs, while the prices that farmers get for their crops has continued to go down, and weather volatility creates uncertainty about whether or not this year’s crop will even make it to harvest. At the same time, many producers are operating on razor-thin margins while trying to plan for the future in an increasingly unpredictable environment.
The Modern Ag Alliance’s State of the American Farmer report highlights just how much pressure farmers are under right now, from rising operating costs and financial stress to broader concerns about the long-term stability of American agriculture.
Q: What are crop protection tools?
A: “Crop protection tools” is a broad term that includes pesticides used to manage weeds, insects, fungi, and other pests that can damage crops and reduce yields. These tools include herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and other products that help farmers protect crops from threats throughout the growing season. Farmers, including organic producers, use crop protection tools across nearly every type of agriculture to help grow food efficiently, affordably, and sustainably.
Q: Why are crop protection tools such a big issue?
A: Crop protection tools are foundational to modern agriculture.
Crop protection tools help farmers manage weeds, pests, and disease that would otherwise devastate yields and drive up costs. According to Crop Life America data, weeds alone can reduce fruit and vegetable yields by 50-90% if left unmanaged.
Glyphosate, in particular, has become one of the most important tools in American farming. It is used on an average of 87% of U.S. corn, soybean, and cotton acres and helps farmers maintain yields while adopting conservation practices like no-till farming and cover crops.
Without these technologies, many farmers would be forced to use more expensive alternatives or increase tillage — both of which raise costs and environmental impacts.
Q: How are crop protection tools critical for advancements into regenerative agriculture?
A: Many conservation and regenerative agriculture practices rely on crop protection tools to work effectively at scale.
Practices like no-till farming and cover cropping help reduce erosion, improve soil health, conserve water, and lower carbon emissions. But without effective weed control tools like glyphosate, many farmers would have to increase tillage, which can disturb soil and increase fuel use.
That’s why many farmers see crop protection tools as an important part of sustainable farming and long-term conservation efforts.
Q: How are pesticide products regulated?
A: These critical chemistries undergo one of the most rigorous review processes of any regulated product category in the U.S. The process can take more than a decade and involves extensive scientific review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and hundreds of experts.
Before a product can be approved, the EPA evaluates extensive data on potential human health and environmental impacts, including toxicity, carcinogenicity, environmental exposure, effects on wildlife and water, and whether the product can be used safely according to the label. And the process does not stop once a product reaches the market. Pesticides are continually re-reviewed, at minimum every 15 years (and often more frequently as new science and data become available) to ensure products continue meeting modern safety standards.
Glyphosate itself has been reviewed repeatedly for more than 50 years by regulators around the world. These agencies have consistently concluded that glyphosate can be used safely as directed.
That’s why many farmers and ag organizations argue that regulations should continue to be grounded in scientific review, not conflicting state standards or courtroom outcomes.
Q: What happens if farmers lose access to crop protection tools?
A: The impacts would ripple throughout the entire food system.
Losing access to these tools would significantly increase production costs, reduce yields, and increase food prices.
One recent report estimated that without glyphosate alone, farmers’ crop protection costs could more than double. It also found that food inflation could increase substantially, adding billions of dollars in annual grocery costs for American families.
For Americans already facing an affordability crisis, those added pressures could be devastating.
Q: What threats are farmers seeing to crop protection tools today?
A: Farmers are increasingly concerned that proven pesticides are being targeted by MAHA social media influencers, anti-ag activists, and relentless litigation that ignores decades of gold standard science.
Farmers worry that if these lawsuits and political attacks continue, manufacturers could eventually pull products from the market altogether, putting the future availability of critical tools at risk today and stifling investments into new innovations for the next generation of American farmers.
Q: What are the solutions farmers are looking for?
A: Farmers need legislative solutions at both the state and federal levels that reinforce clear, science-based pesticide labeling standards.
At the federal level, agricultural groups are advocating the language of the Agricultural Labeling Uniformity Act. This language would reaffirm that the EPA remains the primary authority on pesticide labeling and safety determinations under federal law.
At the state level, lawmakers in Georgia, North Dakota, and Kentucky have already passed similar legislation clarifying that any pesticide registered by the EPA satisfies state warning requirements. Similar legislation is being considered in other states across the country.
For farmers, certainty matters.The goal of this legislation is to ensure farmers can continue relying on consistent, science-based rules instead of navigating conflicting state requirements that threaten the future availability of essential crop protection tools.