In recent months, the crop protection industry has been able to point to a few high-profile wins. This includes having dicamba re-registered for use following an earlier negative court decision and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of federal labeling for glyphosate.
This was the message delivered by Dr. Stanley Culpepper, Professor – Extension Weed Scientist at the University of Georgia, speaking at the 2026 Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) meeting on September 8-10 in Omaha, NE. These were important decisions for the industry’s ability to control weeds, which is a key aspect of today’s agriculture market.
“A great weed scientist once said: ‘The ability of a nation to feed its population is directly related to how farmers control weeds on their farms,’” said Culpepper. “But today, who really understands this anymore? We as an industry are not really communicating this effectively with 99% of the people out there. And this includes our political leaders.”
Culpepper added that given the shrinking base for agriculture across the country, this ability to effectively communicate is becoming even more important than ever.
According to USDA statistics, the country is losing approximately 1.7 farms per hour in 2026, equivalent to 287 acres being taken out of production. Today, there are less than 1.9 million farms left in the U.S., with many of the survivors fitting into the large corporate farms sector. However, while large corporate farms are becoming more numerous, USDA statistics show approximately 90% of the farms that remain are still categorized as small family farms.
Furthermore, he added, pesticides have played a major role in the success of all these farms, regardless of their size.
“Back in the 1800s, one farm fed five people,” said Culpepper. “But today, one farm can feed 184 people, and that’s up from 169 people in 2023. Having effective pesticide management tools at our disposal has played a key role in this advancement.”
To emphasize this point, Culpepper cited research he conducted on various specialty crops and cotton. In tested cotton fields, using pesticides in conjunction with conservation tillage practices costs $21 per acre. But without using pesticides, this figure jumped to more than $2,000 per acre, with the grower forced to perform tillage every two to three days to effectively manage weeds.
“The message here is clear for the farming community: If I don’t have the herbicides many of these groups want to remove from use, I can’t make practices such as conservation tillage, which these groups like, pay off,” he said.
