In case you missed it, two huge policy thunderbolts struck the ground last month, shaking up what’s already been a year of upheaval for agriculture.
First, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 25 ruled in favor of Bayer in the Durnell vs. Monsanto case, as they backed federal labeling requirements over state regulations that cost Bayer billions of dollars in jury awards and court settlements over the last decade.
The 7-2 decision likely nullifies many of the remaining failure-to-warn lawsuits against Monsanto over Roundup, unless lawmakers step in.
Later that same day, President Trump signed an executive order in support of regenerative agriculture — which is loosely defined as practices that reduce or eliminate soil disturbance, increase plant and animal diversity, integrate livestock and maintain living roots in the soil year-round. Reducing or eliminating pesticides and synthetic fertilizers is often cited as well.
Trump directed federal agencies to further study the effects of cumulative chemical exposure in food and find ways to “reduce reliance on convention crop protection tools” to reduce risks to human health.
The order doesn’t single out products by name. But glyphosate, atrazine and paraquat have been targeted by the Trump-aligned Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement as being potentially harmful to people.
The MAHA coalition was a major force behind the executive order, which Trump signed over the objections of the agricultural establishment that included American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall, who was concerned about the implication that the country’s food supply isn’t safe.
Politico carried a very detailed account of this meeting if you'd like to read more. Ecdysis Foundation Founder Jonathan Lundgren, who spoke at the meeting, detailed his account here.
The Supreme Court’s decision provides label clarity and some reassurances for farmers that a tool they utilize will remain available — for now. But it’s not the end of story.
Just putting aside the human health debate for a minute, Roundup and its active ingredient glyphosate has left a legacy of herbicide-resistant weeds, including voracious yield killers like Palmer amaranth and waterhemp. We’re in this boat for many reasons, including naively believing 2 decades ago that weed control was going to be easy again.
Last week’s events are a sign there is a glaring need to change the status quo if we are to strengthen farm resilience, and everyone needs to be on board. It’s too expensive and impractical to duplicate our nation’s agricultural knowledge base and supply chain to revamp our food system.
Powerful forces like the American Farm Bureau, row-crop trade associations, land-grant universities, researchers and manufacturers cannot afford to sit on the sidelines.
And as the Farm Bill comes up for a vote, Congress should be thinking about the practices they incentivize and reward. No-till, strip-till, cover crops, rotational grazing, precision farming and conservation easements should be the preferred practices to reduce expenses and risk.
While our nation’s leaders figure this out, remember that you — the farmer — are a force to be reckoned with locally. Consider being a leader and mentor in helping more growers to adopt conservation practices.