Ag Retailers Need to Heed State Regulations
June 8, 2026 Primarily in today’s agricultural world, federal regulations get most of the attention from suppliers, ag retailers, and growers. However, paying attention to what happens at the state level remains important as well. On occasion, regulations that started at the state level can become federal standards. This has been particularly true for the pesticide industry.
For example, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, states such as Massachusetts and New York enacted pesticide labeling laws to protect growers from mislabeled insecticides. This framework was eventually expanded into Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in 1947, which required federal registration and standardized labeling nationwide.
In acknowledgment of this fact, the Mid America CropLife Association annually gives its members an update from key state ag association leaders as part of its Lunch & Learn program. These individuals explain what proposed regulations are working their way through the state legislators and why these could be important for the entire industry.
According to Ron Seeber, President and CEO at the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association (KARA), an effort to ban insecticides containing neonicotinoids (neonics) is once again being taken up by the state’s Senate. A similar proposed ban on neonics is also making its way throughout the Minnesota state legislature. At present, 10 states limit or restrict neonics use due to their potential impact on pollinators. But these insecticides are popular, with ag retailers applying them to an estimated 135 million acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat annually.
Paraquat is also being targeted by Minnesota legislators, says Lee Helgen, Executive Director at the Minnesota Crop Production Retailers. The long-time herbicide has entered a “phase out” stage, with at least one producer voluntarily pulling registration in California. In other parts of the country, however, paraquat remains an important weed control tool with more than 10 million pounds applied annually.
“I don’t think the paraquat ban legislation is going anywhere this session,” says Helgen. “But it’s not completely dead just yet.”
Another state looking at a paraquat ban is Missouri. According to Steve Taylor, Executive Director at the Missouri Agribusiness Association, it seems as if a different crop protection product ban is proposed before the state’s assembly every few years.
“Here in 2026, it’s paraquat’s turn,” says Taylor. “But I don’t think this one has come up for a committee vote yet, so nothing might come of it right now.”
In Missouri, he says, a much bigger legislative issue for crop protection products is the pesticide labeling bill now before the state legislator. This one calls for state labeling regulations to be put aside in favor of the ones that are part of FIFRA. A few states such as North Dakota and Georgia have already passed such legislation.
KARA’s Seeber says a similar pesticide labeling bill had been working its way through the Kansas state legislator.
“This one sailed through the House, but the Make America Healthy Again moms stopped it in the Senate,” he says. “I don’t see a positive conclusion for this one this year.”
State proposals may not get the attention that federal ones do. But that doesn’t make them any less important to keep an eye on, just in case.
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