Farmers Need Tools That Keep Pace With the Growing Season

By Matt Wright, farmer, Emden, Missouri
Every farming season begins with a plan. Farmers spend months preparing before a single seed goes into the ground. We line up seed, fertilizer and crop protection strategies long before spring planting begins. Those decisions depend on having the tools we expect to use when the crop is growing.
When those tools are delayed, farmers are left trying to manage a season without the options we planned on.
I farm near Emden in northeast Missouri on land my great-grandfather purchased after returning home from World War I. I am a fourth-generation farmer, and today my family raises soybeans, corn and cattle on the same ground he started farming more than a century ago.
Farming has always been about adapting to challenges. Weather changes, markets fluctuate and pests never seem to take a year off. But one challenge farmers should not have to manage is delays in getting access to crop protection tools that have already gone through years of research and development.
More often now, farmers are seeing delays in the approval process for new crop protection products and updates to existing labels. That means some of the innovations designed to help farmers manage weeds, insects and disease are not always available when the growing season demands them.
Crop protection tools are essential to modern farming. They help farmers protect crops from pests and disease that would otherwise reduce yields and increase the cost of producing food.
In Missouri, weeds like waterhemp have become increasingly difficult to control. Anyone who grows soybeans knows how quickly it can spread if it is not managed early. Access to new tools helps farmers stay ahead of resistant weeds that older products sometimes struggle to control.
When those tools are delayed, farmers often have to rely on older options that may require additional passes across the field. That means more fuel, more labor and higher costs during a time when farmers are already managing tight margins.
Weather adds another layer of uncertainty. In Missouri, spring can shift quickly between warm days and long stretches of rain that keep farmers out of the field. When the weather finally cooperates, farmers need to move quickly to stay on schedule.
If the tools we planned to use are delayed or unavailable, it makes those narrow windows even more difficult to manage.
For people outside agriculture, delays in product approvals might sound like a minor issue. But on the farm, timing can determine whether a crop reaches its full potential or falls short.

Farming does not offer second chances. If weeds or pests get ahead early in the season, the effects can carry through the entire crop year.
For many farmers, these challenges are not just about this year’s crop. They are about the future of family farms.
My wife, Erin, and I are raising four kids on the same farm my great-grandfather once worked. Like many farm families, we hope the next generation will have the opportunity to continue the tradition if they choose.
That future depends on having the tools and resources farmers need to stay productive and competitive.
Crop protection products play an important role in helping farmers grow safe, reliable and affordable food. They help protect crops and keep farms viable for the next generation.
Farmers are not asking for shortcuts. We simply need a process that is timely, predictable and based on sound science so the tools farmers rely on can reach the field when they are needed.
Agriculture moves quickly, and the systems that support it should move with the same sense of urgency. Farmers need a process that works so family farms can continue producing food for communities across Missouri and across the country