ICYMI: Farmers Speak Out on Modern Ag Alliance Press Call Ahead of MAHA Report

May 22, 2025

On Wednesday, Modern Ag Alliance (MAA) hosted a press conference call ahead of the release of the Make America Healthy Again Commission’s report, featuring Missouri farmer Blake Hurst and Iowa farmer Scott Henry. Key highlights from the call are below and an audio file of the full press conference is available here.

Comments on Glyphosate Attacks:

Blake Hurst: “The notion that farmers are essentially being accused of conspiring to poison the country we love is deeply upsetting to me—especially since my eldest daughter is fighting cancer. I don't understand how people can reach the conclusion that is what we are doing.”

Scott Henry: “I have two young boys, and the notion that I would want to do something that is not in the best interest of them or their long-term future is disrespectful to me as a farmer … We want [Americans] to buy food. We want it to be cheap. And we want it to be safe. Because don't forget, we feed our children these same products. For somebody to tell us that we don't care about [Americans] is a true slap in the face, and such a sign of disrespect that it's unfortunate to see coming from our own government.”

Comments on Glyphosate's Strong Safety Track Record:

Blake Hurst: “If me—or any of the other thousands of farmers that rely on [glyphosate] thought it was unsafe, we would not put ourselves, our families, and our workers at risk … Pesticide applicators have to go through rigorous safety and application training—and understand that the label is the law, and we must follow the label … It takes around 12 years and $300 million to bring [a pesticide] to market, with extensive reviews by the US Environmental Protection Agency for both human health and environmental safety. Glyphosate has been consistently found by the EPA to be safe when used as directed.”

Comments on Importance of Crop Protection Tools to Success of Farm Operations:

Blake Hurst: “Each year, on average, we farmers lose about 40% of our crops to pests, weeds, and diseases. That figure would double without the help of crop protection chemicals … If we continue to demonize farming and the tools farmers like me use to put food on every dinner table in America, then no chemistry, no farm operation is safe. We are staring down a potential crisis at our doorstep.”

Scott Henry: “Losing access to glyphosate would also increase my labor costs. Ag labor is already scarce—we'd likely have to look outside of the United States for that supply of labor to make up for productivity losses.”

Comments on How Crop Protection Products Help Keep Food Prices Down

Scott Henry: “The bottom line is this: without glyphosate, yields will drop, costs will rise, and higher prices will be passed on to the consumer … I think the biggest thing that I want to make clear today is that if the MAHA Commission's report drives future policy decisions, food prices will go up—and instead of making America healthy again, we'll be making America hungry again.”

Comments on How Crop Protection Products Support Conservation Practices:

Scott Henry: “Without [glyphosate], we'd be forced to go back to the practices of my grandfather—using tillage more, dealing with degrading soils, and putting long-term productivity at risk … If we're just going to blatantly disregard proven science, that concerns me as a farmer and somebody working in the agriculture industry…It's all a part of a very concerted effort to return farming to something like it is imagined to have been 150 years ago.”

Blake Hurst: “We don’t do any tillage at all…[Glyphosate] allows us to eliminate three or four major stress points, drastically reduce carbon emissions, and — most importantly — prevent billions of tons of soil erosion.”