USA Rice Highlights Grower Challenges and Opportunities in Crop Protection Industry Panel

CAPE CORAL, FL – Earlier this week, USA Rice President & CEO Peter Bachmann participated in a panel here as part of the Council of Producers & Distributors of Agrotechnology’s (CPDA) Adjuvants, Inerts, and Crop Protection Conference.

CPDA is the advocate for agricultural adjuvant and inert ingredient suppliers and provides legislative and regulatory support to formulators, distributors, and manufacturers of post-patent (generic) pesticide products and biorationals.  Their members produce and sell tank-mix adjuvants, inert ingredients, pesticides, and other agrotechnology products across the U.S. and range in size from small businesses to large, publicly traded companies.  Approximately 80 percent of the inert ingredients used in agricultural production products throughout the U.S. are provided by CPDA members.

Bachmann’s panel was moderated by Sara Wyant, the founder and publisher of Agri-Pulse, a trade publication that reports on agriculture, food, and energy issues, and was geared toward top grower issues and consisted of association executives, including Cathy Burns, CEO, International Fresh Produce Association; Mike Joyner, president, Florida Fruit & Vegetable; and Christy Seyfert, resident and CEO, Farm Credit Council.

“It was great to participate in the panel before an audience of crop protectant company executives that play a key role in ensuring we can provide a sustainable, safe, and affordable rice crop for consumers throughout the U.S. and the world,” said Bachmann.  “Given the significant changes underway in Washington to the regulatory and political environment, there is a lot of interest amongst the broader agriculture industry regarding the impacts we may see to the grower communities.”

Bachmann provided some optimism despite the critical state of the farm economy and the desperate need for farm safety net certainty for the 2025 crop, saying, “As an industry and an association, we are encouraged by the deregulatory attitude of the Trump Administration that may allow us to operate more efficiently and effectively, and we’re also optimistic about the Administration’s approach to more agricultural market access and lifting of non-tariff barriers around the world for our products.”

Bachmann concluded: “It is imperative that Congress includes significant improvements to the Price Loss Coverage Program in whatever legislative packages that are in the works before farmers start harvest late this summer.  The rice industry is entering its fourth year of negative margins and growers across the country are feeling unprecedented economic strain.”

The other three panelists similarly highlighted the challenges associated with the current farm economy and the need for certainty around reauthorizing various Farm Bill programs and provisions.