CropLife.com: Top 10 Stories from the First Half of 2020

By Matt Hopkins|July 5, 2020

When it comes to storylines in our industry, the first half of the year has been a tale of two halves: pre-pandemic and pandemic. Quite frankly, it’s hard to remember what was happening in agriculture before mid-March, when the coronavirus changed how we live our daily lives and began dominating headlines to no end. Now, as the country slowly begins to reopen, we thought the time was right to look at the developments that have most caught the attention of readers thus far this year — and refresh our memories in the process.

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10 | California Loses Chlorpyrifos: What’s Next?
January 23: A ban on the key active ingredient in the largest U.S. agricultural state leaves some wondering what the true alternatives are.
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9 | Simplot Finalizes Pinnacle Agriculture Acquisition
January 20: Simplot’s AgriBusiness Group now has more than 240 crop input locations throughout the U.S. and Canada with more than 4,400 employees and 500 crop advisors.
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8 | Why Micronutrients Might Be Generating More Revenue for Ag Retailers Than You Think
March 3: Despite unfavorable market conditions most years, the micronutrients segment continues to outpace other crop inputs among CropLife 100 retailers.
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7 | Is It D-Day for Dicamba?
June 3: In a bit of Nostradamus-like prognostication, Editor Eric Sfiligoj poses this question on the fate of the embattled herbicide just prior to a federal court's decision to vacate three dicamba registrations.
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6 | Here’s Why e-Commerce Is No Longer a ‘Major Threat’ for Ag Retailers
February 2: E-Commerce in ag retail has shifted from a “major concern’ to a “minor threat,” according to the annual CropLife 100 survey.
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5 | Who Will Be the Next Monsanto-Like Villain in Agriculture?
January 27: It appears the Villain Quest will continue without a clear candidate as the next “kingpin of bad agriculture.”
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4 | Five Ways Coronavirus Is Affecting Agriculture
March 17: There are questions about how COVID-19 will affect labor availability, consumer demand for produce, trade deals, supply chains for crop inputs, and more.
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3 | Forecasting Agriculture for the Remainder of 2020: 5 Ridiculous Predictions and 5 Reasonable Ones
April 26: Editors Eric Sfiligoj and Paul Schrimpf share a mix of absurdity and actuality in this twisted look ahead to the rest of 2020.
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2 | COVID-19: How Ag Retailers Are Stepping Up to Help Customers, Employees Amid the Coronavirus Crisis
March 21: Learn how these CropLife 100 companies have taken a proactive approach to working with employees, customers, and industry partners during the pandemic.
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1 | A to Z: Photo Highlights From the 2020 National Farm Machinery Show
February 20: The editors of CropLife IRON present the highlights from the NFMS — from A to Z — in this photo gallery.

The slideshow above shows the 10 most-read CropLife.com stories in the first half of 2020 in terms of views, unveiled in descending order. Not surprisingly, the pandemic made the rundown more than once.

Matt Hopkins is Senior Multi-Media Specialist for the Agribusiness Group at Meister Media Worldwide (MMW), including such brands as CropLife, CropLife IRON, AgriBusiness Global, Global Agtech Initiative, and Cotton Grower. He is responsible for managing an array of digital products, including newsletters, websites, video, and social media. Hopkins originally joined MMW in 1994 as an editor for Greenhouse Grower magazine before transitioning to Business Manager of its MeisterPro division. He has a Communications Degree from Cleveland State University. See all author stories here.