Survey says: Farmers, public agree that crop protection tools are vital

ST. LOUIS — Crop protection tools — including widely popular glyphosate-based herbicides — are critical for weed control and providing an ample and affordable food supply.

That is the prevailing sentiment in a survey from the Modern Ag Alliance which gauged the opinions of farmers and the general public on the importance of crop protection products and the potential impacts if these tools were litigated or regulated away.

“We’ve seen a wave of litigation against these chemistries over the last five to 10 years,” said Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, the executive director of the alliance.

She said the group is currently working on legislative measures in about a dozen different states. So far this year, bills have been advanced to ensure farmers’ continued access to essential crop protection tools in North Dakota, Missouri, Georgia, Tennessee and, most recently, Iowa.

Introduced a year ago, the Modern Ag Alliance today consists of more than 95 commodity groups, agribusiness associations and state Farm Bureaus. Bayer, which manufactures glyphosate, helped to establish the coalition.

At a time when Democrats and Republicans seem to rarely agree, Burns-Thompson said, this is a very bipartisan issue.

“Both the farmers as well as the general public are consistently opposed to litigation that is putting threats against their critical tools,” she said. “There is extremely strong support for legislative solutions to help push back against some of that litigation.”

The survey was written and administered by Penta Group in January and February. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Kris Havens, a partner at the independent research firm, explained the results are based on a national sample of 1,005 online interviews of U.S. adults and 600 phone and online interviews of farmers from 12 states.

They also surveyed 500 adults in each of the dozen key agricultural states, collecting state-specific data points along with the national representative sample.

Havens reiterated that the sentiment was the same both on and off the farm, among the agricultural community and the public.

“The data shows a great deal of consistency across the regions, in each of the states, as well as the national population, as well as consistency across political party lines,” she said.

Survey Findings

• Americans oppose litigation that could limit farmers’ access to critical crop protection tools: 88% of farmers and 56% of all Americans, including 63% of Republicans and 50% of Democrats, oppose these efforts.

• Americans are deeply concerned that litigation against crop protection manufacturers will lower crop yields, leading to higher food prices for consumers during a time of record inflation: 89% of farmers and 70% of all Americans, including 72% of Republicans and 74% of Democrats, share this concern.

• Americans overwhelmingly trust farmers, not trial lawyers: 64% of Americans trust local farmers, including 72% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats; meanwhile, only 11% of Americans trust trial lawyers, including 11% of Republicans and 15% of Democrats.

• Americans want leaders who stand with farmers over trial lawyers: 97% of farmers and 73% of all Americans, including 78% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats, are more likely to support leaders who stand with farmers over trial lawyers.

United We Stand

The inaugural Ag Insights Survey shows farmers and others united in their concerns about the growing impact of litigation on food security and inflation.

“Consumers as a whole are concerned that if we are taking tools out of the toolbox of farmers, that will directly impact their ability to buy groceries at the end of the day,” Burns-Thompson said.

“Americans overall are understanding that potential economic strain that is only going to continue to grow should there continue to be threats against these tools that make us effective and productive.”

That is a message the Modern Ag Alliance is taking to state and federal legislators.

“This is not only important to the companies that are bringing these topics forward, it’s not only important to the associations that are part of this partnership, but these are important to the people that elect you and put you in office,” Burns-Thompson said.

Call To Action

The advocacy group’s executive director urged farmers to speak up and explain why and how crop protection products are used.

“The label is the law.”

—  Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, executive director, Modern Ag Alliance

“People trust farmers,” she said. “They look to the farmer as a trusted resource. They want farmers to be successful and productive.”

Describe the extensive science behind the products, Burns-Thompson advised.

“Science is science,” she said. “Applicators are folks that go through pesticide applicator training and hear time and time again ‘the label is the law’ — the label is the law.”

“Folks need to understand that there is importance in that label, right? Things just aren’t put on that label ‘just because.’ There is research that justifies every particular piece,” she stressed.

“Every component piece of that label is very specifically regulated and there is a reason behind each of those details.”

“The voice of the farmer is incredibly important because those are the folks that are utilizing these products each and every day and they understand that the label is the law,” she said.

A Warning

A lot of the attention to date has been on glyphosate, because it has been the initial target of the litigation industry, Burns-Thompson said.

“We see this as potentially being a bellwether for what any other chemistry, both on the market today as well as anything that’s coming down the hopper through R&D, could potentially face if we don’t get a solution today,” she said.

“Glyphosate is the target of the litigation industry now, tomorrow it can be something else and five years from now it could be something different. And if we don’t provide some consistency and clarity, this is going to continue to be a snowball effect.”