Imagine Missouri’s farmers heading into planting season without the tools they need to get the job done. That’s the reality farmers face—within a matter of months—as a wave of trial lawyer-driven litigation forces domestic manufacturers to consider halting sales of essential crop protection tools in the U.S. entirely. While farmers bear the brunt of this unfolding crisis, Missourians broadly understand what’s at stake—and that the consequences will extend far beyond the farm if the litigation goes unchecked.
At the Modern Ag Alliance, our recent Ag Insights Surveycaptured sentiment from farmers and the general public on agricultural issues in Missouri. The findings confirm strong, bipartisan support for defending farmers’ access to crop protection tools and a clear opposition to the litigation that undermines them. Nearly 70% of Missourians—including 96% of farmers—oppose these legal attacks, including majorities of both Republicans (73%) and Democrats (67%).
While all of these critical tools are at risk, at the center of the legal attacks today is glyphosate—the most widely used herbicide in Missouri, where it is used on 91% of the state’s soybeans and 66% of corn acres. Farmers use glyphosate because they know firsthand how essential it is to producing a robust, affordable supply of the food and fuel our nation depends on. In fact, 92% of Missouri farmers say tools like glyphosate help lower their costs—protecting their ability to stay in business while also keeping food and fuel prices more stable for all of us.
Research confirms this—estimates show that yield losses could be as high as 85% and farmers’ input costs could rise up to 150% without critical inputs like glyphosate. Already grappling with trade uncertainty and falling commodity prices, a hit like that could push many small and family farms past the point of survival.
But the consequences don’t stop there. Higher input costs could cause food inflation to double. That connection isn’t lost on Missourians: 75% are concerned these relentless lawsuits will drive up food prices by reducing crop yields, a sentiment shared by strong majorities of Republicans (79%) and Democrats (75%). At a time when families are already struggling with rising prices at the grocery store and the fuel pump, it’s a risk folks across Missouri can’t afford.
This looming crisis reinforces why farmers and scientific experts—not trial lawyers—should be guiding agriculture policy. While leading regulatory agencies in the U.S. and around the world have repeatedly affirmed glyphosate’s safety when used as directed, trial lawyers point to a single, discredited opinion from a World Health Organization (WHO) subagency. This outlier report conducted no original research, ignored real-world exposure, and may have even manipulated data to distort the facts. But that has not stopped the litigation industry, which stands to make a fortune from tens of thousands of baseless lawsuits—leaving farmers and consumers to deal with the fallout.
It stands to reason that Missourians have low trust in trial lawyers driving attacks on crop protection tools. Our data shows that while 77% of Missourians trust local farmers, only 17% can say the same about trial lawyers. Moreover, 81% of the general public—including 82% of Republicans and 84% of Democrats—support policies that ensure science-based regulation of crop protection tools, like House Bill 544. The bill, which was passed by the Missouri House and is now under consideration by the Senate, would reaffirm that the federally approved label is the law and protect farmers’ access to the proven tools they rely on. Put simply, HB 544 will provide the legal certainty farmers need when it comes to the availability of critical tools.
And HB 544 isn’t just good policy, it’s also good politics. Our findings show that an overwhelming 86% of Missourians are more likely to support leaders who stand with farmers over trial lawyers on ag policy issues such as this.
With all that farmers do to support our country, it’s no wonder that Missourians stand on the side of farmers. We urge Missouri lawmakers to do the same. For the future of Missouri agriculture—and food supply nationwide—we must act now.
Elizabeth Burns-Thompson is the Executive Director of the Modern Ag Alliance, a diverse coalition of more than 100 agricultural organizations advocating for U.S. farmers’ access to essential crop protection tools.
Executive Director of theModern Ag Alliance
