CropLife Retail Week: 2026 Farm Bill Update, Atrazine and Corteva’s New Spinoff Company

In this episode, CropLife Editor Eric Sfiligoj and Amy Asmus, Co-Owner of Asmus Farm Supply, tackle the House passage of the 2026 Farm Bill (H.R. 7567) and what it means for your regulatory safety nets. Other topics covered are the major storm brewing around atrazine following the latest IARC classification, look at the standalone push for year-round E15 ethanol, zapping weeds, and the break down a chaotic spring weather season across the Corn Belt.

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*Below is a partial and edited transcript:

Eric Sfiligoj:

Hello, welcome to another edition of CropLife Retail Week. I’m Eric Sfiligoj, editor of CropLife, here again with my co-host Amy Asmus. Amy, how are you doing today?

Amy Asmus:

I’m doing great today. It’s been an interesting week. Farmers are in a good mood now that we’ve gotten some rain, and life is good.

Eric Sfiligoj:

We’ll talk about the weather in a couple of minutes, but first I wanted to touch on the Farm Bill. The House passed H.R. 7567, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026.

Based on your experience as former chairperson of the Agricultural Retailers Association and your connection to the marketplace, what will this Farm Bill do that’s beneficial for ag retailers and growers?

Amy Asmus:

A lot of priorities made it into the bill, although some were cut out. The positives included technical service provider reforms that the Agricultural Retailers Association worked on. The bill also officially defined biostimulants and expanded and modernized access to agricultural credit for producers.

There were also reforms around crop insurance, particularly helping underserved and veteran producers gain better access. It expanded some specialty crop coverage and included targeted subsidies to improve affordability.

Eric Sfiligoj:

For crop insurance?

Amy Asmus:

Yes. Crop insurance was a major component. We liked seeing stronger safety nets for farmers because they’re critical for grower planning and risk management.

One disappointing aspect was the removal of support for EPA-related provisions through the Luna amendment. That could create challenges around uniform labeling, NPDES permits under Waters of the U.S., and pesticide preemption. Some language that would have prevented states from imposing more restrictive rules than federal labels was removed.

Those provisions were important to retailers. The House passing a Farm Bill is only the beginning. There’s still a long road ahead, and hopefully some of those concerns can be addressed in the Senate version and final legislation.

Eric Sfiligoj:

Any update on where the Senate stands as we sit here in mid-May 2026?

Amy Asmus:

Not really. The political environment right now is difficult. Members who historically supported production agriculture and crop protection tools are operating differently during this election year.

That said, growers and retailers still need regulatory certainty and access to scientifically reviewed crop protection tools to remain productive, competitive, and sustainable. It’s frustrating, but that’s the political reality we’re dealing with.

Eric Sfiligoj:

Originally, the Farm Bill included year-round E15 ethanol language, but that was removed and voted on separately. Is that correct?

Amy Asmus:

Yes. The standalone E15 bill passed through the House, and now the Senate is reviewing it. Pulling it out separately was probably smart because it avoided all the amendments tied to the larger Farm Bill process.

Hopefully it moves through the Senate smoothly and we get year-round E15 approved.

Eric Sfiligoj:

Why is year-round E15 important for the marketplace?

Amy Asmus:

It increases corn usage. Anytime we can expand markets for what farmers grow, it’s positive. Higher demand can strengthen markets and improve opportunities for growers.

Eric Sfiligoj:

Let’s shift to weather. Here in Ohio it’s been unusually cool and wet. Other regions are dealing with drought and difficult conditions. What has the season been like in Iowa?

Amy Asmus:

It’s been a crazy year. Earlier we were worried about getting enough rain to activate herbicides. In the last three weeks we’ve experienced all four major weather stresses: heat, cold, wet and dry conditions, wind, and aggressive precipitation.

The positive is that crops in our area are activated and growing. Now we just need more heat.

Eric Sfiligoj:

Fingers crossed. I know crop insurance deadlines are approaching as well.

Amy Asmus:

Yes, and hopefully growers everywhere get the weather they need at the right time to get crops established successfully.

Eric Sfiligoj:

Another major story this year is Corteva splitting into two companies. One will focus on crop protection under the Corteva name, while the seed business will become a new standalone company called Vylor.

The company says the name comes from “valor” to honor farmers while also representing marketplace opportunity. What do you think?

Amy Asmus:

I think it’s great. Corteva stood for something, and now Vylor stands for something too. They clearly put a lot of thought into the branding.

We’ve seen companies combine and separate seed businesses before, but this feels like a more permanent split. It’ll be interesting to see how this new business model works and what it brings to the industry.

Eric Sfiligoj:

I’ll definitely be watching to see whether other companies follow a similar model.

Amy Asmus:

It’s interesting because Corteva’s split wasn’t driven by liability concerns, but we’ve seen companies like Bayer spin off products because of liability pressures. That brings us to atrazine and the recent news surrounding it.

Eric Sfiligoj:

The International Agency for Research on Cancer recently classified atrazine as a probable carcinogen. The findings were controversial because much of the evidence came from animal research with limited human evidence.

It reminds me of the glyphosate situation in 2015, when similar classifications led to major lawsuits. Whether accurate or not, those reports became central in court cases.

Amy Asmus:

Atrazine has been around for nearly 70 years and has faced challenges almost its entire life. This situation reminds me of the 2009 reevaluation that focused on ecological risks and endocrine disruption in frogs.

Yet here we are in 2026, and atrazine is still widely used. That’s why science-based decision-making at the EPA is so important. Hopefully the Farm Bill can strengthen support for science-driven regulatory processes.

Eric Sfiligoj:

After the break, we’re going to shift gears and talk about weed control innovation.

[Break]

Eric Sfiligoj:

We’re back with Amy Asmus from Asmus Farm Supply. One of the biggest ongoing issues in crop protection is weed resistance.

A company called LASCO is developing a product called the Lightning Weeder. It mounts on a boom arm and uses electrical discharge instead of chemicals to zap weeds in the field.

I thought it was fascinating because we’ve seen laser systems and mechanical weed removal before, but this is a completely different approach.

Amy Asmus:

I would love to zap weeds out of the field.

The electrical technology is fascinating and fits alongside laser systems and robotics that target weeds individually. Researchers are even studying which laser colors work best against different weed species.

Over time, weed control has evolved from hand labor and hoes to cultivation, then chemical herbicides, biotech traits, and now precision technologies using AI, robotics, lasers, and electronics.

It’s interesting because we’re returning to mechanical weed control, but in a much more targeted and advanced way. These innovations are important because herbicide resistance continues to grow.

Eric Sfiligoj:

Do you think we could eventually see a “see-and-zap” system similar to today’s see-and-spray technology?

Amy Asmus:

Absolutely. Innovation in weed and pest management has to become more creative. Environmental pressure against synthetic chemistries isn’t going away, but growers still need effective pest control solutions.

Instead of only attacking existing tools, we should support innovation that uses less chemistry, incorporates biologicals, or introduces entirely new technologies. Those solutions could become scalable tools for the future.

Eric Sfiligoj:

For anyone interested in agricultural technology, we encourage you to attend Tech Hub Live coming up July 20-22 in Des Moines, Iowa. Amy and I will both be there.

Amy Asmus:

We look forward to seeing everyone there. Come find us.

Eric Sfiligoj:

On behalf of myself and everyone at CropLife, thanks for joining us for this edition of CropLife Retail Week. We’ll see you next week.