DECATUR, Ill. — Along with their partners, the Modern Ag Alliance (MAA) works with federal and state policymakers to advance legislative solutions that ensure consistency in pesticide labeling and continued innovation in farming. The Alliance, which is part of a consortium of stakeholder partners with primary support from Bayer Crop Sciences, promotes the importance of science-based regulation and the need to reinforce that any pesticide registered with the EPA — and sold under a label consistent with the EPA’s own determinations — is sufficient to satisfy health and safety warning requirements.

Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, executive director of the MAA, said in an interview with Farm World that after careful consideration and analysis, she feels there are still issues of concern remaining for agriculture within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) updated “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) Strategy Report, which was released on Sept. 9. While the final MAHA report largely backtracked on an earlier version’s assertion that commonly-used crop protection tools are unsafe for humans, concerns could remain around the future of glyphosate and other chemicals used on farms. 

“We are grateful that the voice of the American farmer was indeed heard in the drafting of the final MAHA report,” Burns-Thompson said. “However, points of concern do remain. There may still be doors open to changes that do not take into account the true gold standard that we have in this country with the review and analysis that goes into ensuring that the products put on the market are safe. What I would point to is a piece that talks about reforms to the review processes, specifically processes around cumulative effects. We would argue that those are aspects already incorporated into the review process that EPA does, and it is not just a one-and-done process.”

In addition, Burns-Thompson and the MAA are wary of ambiguous language in the final MAHA report that could lead to confusion when states seek to implement the report’s recommendations. “This calendar year some states put forward initially some concerning legislation that would have changed how food product labeling looks in relation to pesticides, specifically. Texas and, I believe, Louisiana incorporated glyphosate and atrazine in those initial conversations but that was ultimately stripped out as it went through the legislature,” she said.

“I believe what happens in D.C. is very important as we are looking ahead to 2026. We need to have robust conversations with our state lawmakers looking at how they take MAHA-related policies and implement them at the state level. At the end of the day the underlying goal of MAHA, making us all healthier, is something everybody can get on board with. Some of the tactics or approaches being used are where we need to have some of these conversations.”

Burns-Thompson engaged with dozens of farmers who filed by MAA’s booth in the Varied Industries Tent over the three-day course of the recent 2025 Farm Progress Show in Decatur. Many of the farmers Burns-Thompson spoke to at the 2025 FPS voiced concern about the disconnect between those who are actively involved in farming and the general public regarding how food is produced. 

“We need to be working to bridge that gap in explaining what we do, how we do it and why we do it, especially when it comes to crop protection tools and these critical chemistries that we depend on,” she said. “Everybody appreciates the affordability, abundance and safety of our food and fuel supply, and there is a growing opportunity to talk about what is necessary to (achieve) that process.”

According to the Alliance, glyphosate is the backbone of modern farming. The most widely used herbicide in the U.S. for the past 50 years, glyphosate is regarded as a cost-effective tool that can be used safely when applied as directed. Protecting farmers’ access to this critical crop protection tool is a top priority of the MAA.

“Farmers are telling us that if we lose glyphosate to this process or these challenges via the legal system or regulatory systems, they are very concerned that it will create a bellwether effect for every other active ingredient in every tool in their toolbox. This was actually one of the biggest concerns of the farmers I spoke to at Farm Progress,” said Burns-Thompson. “Every aspect of ag has some type of pest management that needs to take place.”

A lack of clarity and consistency around pesticide labels could create a tumbling effect that could begin “tearing tools out of the toolbox” of farmers moving forward, she added. For that reason and others, MAA has conducted state-level legislative conversations in around 12 states in 2025 that were “laser-focused” on labeling certainty and clarity. 

“The legislation looked almost identical in every state, and I’m very pleased we got (bills) over the finish line in North Dakota and Georgia. In the interim, since most legislative bodies have concluded at the state level for fall, we have shifted our focus into the federal space. There is language that sits within the House Interior Appropriations Bill Section 453 that would provide consistency and clarity around pesticide labeling at the federal level. It is also a topic that continues to be talked about as part of the ‘Skinny Farm Bill’ or ‘Farm Bill 2.0,’” Burns-Thompson said. 

To learn more about the MAA, visit www.modernagalliance.org.