The Agriculture Industry Needs Regulatory Certainty, Not “Jackpot Justice” Litigation
By: Elizabeth Burns-Thompson
Across industries, businesses depend on clear, predictable regulations to stay competitive. However, trial lawyers often exploit gaps in existing frameworks to override decisions made by experts and regulators—and make a fortune in the process. These countless lawsuits create legal uncertainty, disrupt businesses, and threaten entire sectors—including agriculture, which relies on established, science-based frameworks.
Consumers already feel the strain of rising prices—from groceries to gas to housing—but excessive litigation is making it worse. In 2021 alone, “jackpot justice” lawsuits drained $443 billion from the U.S. economy—2.1% of GDP—costing households an extra $3,621, much of it benefiting trial lawyers, not claimants.
This challenge is particularly pressing in agriculture, where strict oversight makes regulatory certainty crucial for long-term decisions about equipment, land, and harvest planning. For crop protection tools, however, confusion over state and federal roles in product labeling has opened the door to relentless, often meritless lawsuits. If these legal challenges succeed, farmers could lose access to essential crop protection inputs like glyphosate, forcing them to adopt more expensive and less effective alternatives. With input costs rising and three-fourths of U.S. farms making less than 10 cents on every dollar spent, growers need assurance that the products they rely on to stay competitive and keep food costs down will remain available.
Unchecked litigation isn’t just an issue for farmers—it’s a direct threat to the future of America's entire agricultural supply chain. These same legal threats jeopardize domestic manufacturing and mineral production, as lawsuits ignoring regulatory approvals for inputs like fertilizers and industrial chemicals threaten to disrupt supply chains, drive up costs, and put American jobs at risk.
Addressing this issue means ensuring that businesses are not punished for following the law. If a product has been reviewed and approved by regulators based on rigorous safety evaluations, companies should be able to rely on those approvals without facing endless litigation. At the same time, legal pathways must remain available for individuals with legitimate claims, preserving consumer protections without undermining regulatory consistency.
American agriculture needs a regulatory system rooted in science, not shaped by lawsuits. Legislation pending in a number of state capitols, like HB 1318 in North Dakota, SF 394 in Iowa, and HB 544 in Missouri, aim to provide certainty that the tools farmers need won't be litigated away. This effort, supported by a broad coalition of farmers, businesses, and concerned citizens, is a critical step toward restoring clarity and protecting growers.
It's time for lawmakers across the country to stand with farmers, secure the future of our food system, and pass these bills to reaffirm their commitment to science-based regulation.
Elizabeth Burns-Thompson serves as the Executive Director of the Modern Ag Alliance, where she leads the Alliance’s efforts to advocate for U.S. farmers’ continued access to essential crop protection tools.