Council of Producers & Distributors of Agrotechnology

Terry Kippley, CPDA

July 24, 2025

It’s been a busy and productive two weeks following the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Here’s the latest.

CPDA Testifies Before the House Agriculture Committee

On Tuesday, July 22, Terry Abbott, Chairman of the CPDA Board of Directors testified before the House Agriculture Committee during a hearing entitled Past Breakthroughs and Innovations in Crop Production.

Chairman Abbott highlighted how real-world innovation relies on timely regulatory decisions, access to proven crop protection technologies, and practical mitigation tools for farmers.

“Innovation is not limited to new chemistries. It’s also about how we use technology smarter, how we deliver stewardship more efficiently, and how we make regulatory systems work better for farmers and the environment alike,” Abbott told the Committee.

During his testimony, Abbott underscored the backlog at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs and urged full funding to provide much‑needed regulatory certainty. He also emphasized how drift reduction technologies offer a scalable, science‑based option that helps growers comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) without sacrificing productive acres.



“We appreciate the Committee giving CPDA the opportunity to share practical solutions that support both innovation and environmental stewardship,” said CPDA President and CEO Terry Kippley. “CPDA will continue working with Congress and federal agencies to improve the U.S. pesticide regulatory system and ensure growers have access to the tools they need.”

Ranking Member Craig; Terry Abbott, CPDA Chairman; Terry Kippley, CPDA; House Ag Committee Chairman Thompson.

U.S. House Committee on Appropriations Adopts FY 2026 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill

On July 22, the House Committee on Appropriations adopted the FY 2026 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill, which funds the operation of EPA as well as the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP).

While the bill cut overall EPA funding by 23%, it maintained OPP funding at current levels.

The Committee also directly addressed the regulatory backlog at OPP by directing EPA to identify the resource needs, including adequate staffing levels within each of the regulatory and science divisions within OPP to meet its statutory obligations in a transparent manner while addressing the backlog.



As mentioned, OPP funding remains at $134.275 million, which is the same as the FY 24 appropriation and assumed FY 25 Continuing Resolution funding levels, and significantly more than the FY 26 Budget request. 

Farm Bill 2.0

With President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) in the hopper, CPDA’s farm bill focus, and strategy has shifted. While the OBBBA contains several key ag policy wins, other policy-based farm bill priorities had to be removed to comply with Senate budget rules. Under reconciliation, only budget-related provisions are allowed, preventing inclusion of items such as expanded USDA loan limits or suspension of outdated permanent price support authority.



Because of this, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson recently acknowledged the limitations of the reconciliation process and confirmed plans to advance a second farm bill, what he called “Farm Bill 2.0” this fall. This new effort is expected to address policy provisions left out of OBBBA and could serve as the vehicle for a more complete reauthorization. CPDA will continue working with congressional leaders to ensure our members’ priorities are well-positioned in this next phase.

CPDA PAC Fundraiser with Senator Deb Fischer

CPDA’s Vice President of Governmental Relations Andrew Walmsley and I participated in an agricultural input industry Political Action Committee fundraiser for Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE). CPDA cohosted this event with our office partners CropLife America and the Agricultural Retailers Association as well as several member companies. Senator Fischer serves on both the Senate Agriculture and Appropriations Committees and provided a valuable opportunity to highlight CPDA’s priorities, including sustained funding for EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) and key Farm Bill 2.0 priorities.

Jeremy Stump, Nutrien; Andrew Walmsley, CPDA; Val Dolcini, Syngenta; Terry Kippley, CPDA; Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE); Alexandra Dunn, CropLife America; Hunter Carpenter, Agricultural Retailers Association; Jeff Blackwood, CropLife America.

CPDA Meets with EPA Leadership

CPDA and members of the PRIA Coalition met with leaders from EPA Headquarters and OPP to discuss PRIA fee category simplification and ongoing process improvements. We also emphasized the need to maintain continuity between current and future PRIA codes, and recommended reestablishing division-specific fee chart teams.

OPP Director Ed Messina and newly appointed Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pesticides Kyle Kunkler participated in the discussion. EPA also shared preliminary concepts to guide the development of PRIA 6.



The group also raised key process improvement priorities, including DER templates, potential use of AI, notification timelines, and updates to technical screen checklists. CPDA reiterated support for these efforts and offered to assist with the implementation of EPA’s FY25 improvement initiatives.

Senate Agriculture Committee Meeting

Andrew and I had an introductory meeting with Karl Anderson, newly appointed professional staff on the Senate Agriculture Committee. Karl oversees pesticide and agricultural research policy for the Committee, so our meeting was particularly timely as we were able to introduce Karl to CPDA’s farm bill priorities, particularly to include support for innovation in crop protection, research funding, and regulatory clarity for pesticide technologies.

CPDA Meets with NRCS

Andrew and I had a productive meeting with Kaytlin Cryan, Policy Advisor for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), to discuss opportunities to update USDA’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) conservation practice standards. The conversation focused on the need to incorporate today’s new technologies that support land stewardship into NRCS conservation programs. This is particularly important in order to provide growers with effective mitigation tools for Endangered Species Act (ESA) restrictions and compliance.

Andrew Walmsley, CPDA; Kaytlin Cryan, NRCS; Terry Kippley, CPDA

CPDA Meets with OPMP

Andrew and I also sat down with the leadership from USDA’s Office of Pest Management Policy (OPMP), which included Dr. Clayton Myers, Claire Paisley-Jones, and Julie Van Alstine. The meeting provided an opportunity to introduce CPDA to several new OPMP staff members. We also highlighted several issues of joint interest, including the regulatory backlog at EPA, CPDA’s engagement on ESA mitigation strategies, and discussed our efforts with NRCS to modernize Conservation Practice Standards.



OPMP expressed interest in continued dialogue around these issues and appreciated the proactive engagement from CPDA.

Andrew Walmsley, CPDA; Julie Van Alstine, Dr. Clayton Myers, USDA OPMP; Terry Kippley, CPDA

CPDA Meeting with EFED

CPDA and members of the CPDA ESA Working Group, led by Dr. Eric Spandl, continued our ongoing dialogue with staff from OPP’s Environmental Fate and Effects Division (EFED). During this meeting we discussed the data CPDA recently submitted on drift reduction adjuvants (DRAs). EFED raised several technical questions related to adjuvant identification, performance under field conditions, and evaluation metrics.



Many thanks to CPDA’s ESA Working Group for their continued engagement with EFED to ensure DRAs are recognized as a viable spray drift mitigation tool.

WSSA Label Format Update

Our friends at the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) submitted an updated structured label format to EPA, reflecting feedback from the June 2025 Pesticide Program DaliogueDialogue Committee meeting. CPDA has worked closely with WSSA on this effort, which aims to improve clarity and consistency across pesticide labels through standardized tables, section ordering, and improved formatting. A major advancement in the latest draft is the inclusion of adjuvant recommendations as a defined section within the proposed standardized label format, helping ensure applicators receive clear, consistent guidance.

CPDA will continue engaging with EPA and stakeholders to support adoption. The updated format is available here.

Future of Adjuvants & Inerts Webinar July 31

CPDA Chairman Terry Abbott will be featured in an upcoming Agribusiness Global Live webinar focused on global trends and innovations in adjuvants and inerts. The event is supported by CPDA member Rainbow and co-hosted by CPDA media partner Agribusiness Global. Webinar details are available here.

CPDA Submits Comments on California DPR Proposed Groundwater Regulation

California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) has proposed a unique-to-California regulation that would revise how pesticides are evaluated for potential groundwater contamination. The updated methodology would allow DPR to regulator and restrict active ingredients based on potential degradants, not just the AIs themselves. While the proposal includes removing some pesticides currently deemed unlikely to contaminate groundwater, it would also add more than 50 active ingredients under the new criteria. This marks a significant expansion from earlier DPR communications, which framed the effort primarily as a cleanup of misclassified products.

CPDA, along with a broad coalition of agricultural and water quality organizations, submitted comments opposing the proposed changes to the Groundwater Protection List (GWPL) and leaching evaluation methodology. The proposal departs from established EPA science-based frameworks by relying on a flawed multivariate statistical approach (MLV) that risks misclassifying pesticides and degradants.



CPDA raised concerns about regulatory misalignment, the protection of Confidential Business Information, lack of transparency, and potential impacts on product registration and environmental programs. CPDA is urging DPR to pause implementation and re-evaluate the methodology.

Updated EPA Organization Charts Now Available

New organization charts are now available for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention and the Office of Pesticide Programs’ Registration Division. These webpages list names, titles, contact information, and areas of responsibility to help registrants reach the appropriate staff to answer questions.New organization charts are now available for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention and the Office of Pesticide Programs’ Registration Division. These webpages list names, titles, contact information, and areas of responsibility to help registrants reach the appropriate staff to answer questions.

CPDA Paper Accepted at ASTM Symposium

CPDA’s Dr. Andrew Hewitt authored a paper which has been accepted for presentation at the ASTM 44th Symposium on Pesticide Formulation and Delivery Systems: Navigating the Challenges of Sustainable Innovation. The paper, titled “The Endangered Species Act and Buffer Zone Reductions Using Nozzle and Drift Reduction Adjuvant Optimization,” highlights how nozzle selection and adjuvant use can mitigate ESA no-spray buffer requirements.



Thank you Dr. Hewitt!

Member and Prospective Member Engagement

Andrew Walmsley, CPDA; Jeremy Stump, Nutrien; Terry Kippley, CPDA

Andrew Walmsley, CPDA; Scott Kuschmider, Atticus; Terry Kippley, CPDA

Andrew and I met with the team at prospective member AgXplore. Zach Bingman, Edith Emory, AgXplore; Terry Kippley, CPDA; Tim Gutwein, Gunther Kreps, Martin Barbre, AgXplore; Andrew Walmsley, CPDA

Registration Now Open for the CPDA 2025 Annual Meeting

September 28 – October 1, 2025

Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, Lake Geneva, WI

Join us for three days of unparalleled industry insights and top-tier networking! This is your chance to connect with industry leaders, gain invaluable knowledge, and be part of the conversations that are shaping the future of our field.

Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity for growth and learning!

Mark your calendars and get ready to elevate your expertise. Together, we can cultivate a brighter future for agriculture!

CPDA Annual Meeting Sponsors

Upcoming Industry Events

Until next time….