Council of Producers & Distributors of Agrotechnology

Terry Kippley, CPDA

October 10, 2025

The 2025 CPDA Annual Meeting is in the books! Seasonally warm temperatures greeted all of the participants who made the trek to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Thank you to all the attendees who made this year’s Annual Meeting a resounding success.

Annual Meeting Highlights

Kyle Kunkler, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety & Pollution Prevention, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Kyle Kunkler Served as 
our Keynote Speaker

Kyle brings a farmer mindset to EPA to ensure that looming Endangered Species Act pesticide restrictions don’t unnecessarily burden growers at a time when the farm economy is struggling. Kyle also discussed the implementation of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act and reiterated EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s commitment at removing the regulatory submission backlog.

In closing, Kyle discussed the Make America Healthy Again Commission and their recent report that emphasized the importance of pesticides as well as the need for a robust, science-based regulatory process that ensures the safety of our food supply while protecting the environment.

Terry Abbott, Adjuvants Unlimited; Kyle Kunkler, Office of Chemical Safety & Pollution Prevention, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Patrick Ewan, Helena Agri-Enterprises; Terry Kippley, CPDA.

Joint General Session

Terry Abbott and Paul Rea Open Annual Meeting

CPDA Chairman of the Board Terry Abbott of Adjuvants Unlimited and CLA Board Chair Paul Rea of BASF opened the combined CPDA/CLA annual meeting by noting the significant challenges facing the industry which includes regulatory uncertainties, tariffs, and Washington DC political intrigue. Terry urged the participants to use their time in Lake Geneva to tackle these issues head on.  

Terry Abbott, CPDA Chairman, Adjuvants Unlimited

Paul Rea, CropLife America Board Chair, BASF

Beth Sanner

Beth Sanner brought her years of Presidential level insight, which includes her role briefing President Trump on National Security issues to the CPDA/CLA Annual Meeting. She noted that Mr. Trump is 100% outcome driven and sometimes that excludes the establishment of needed processes. She also referenced Mr. Trump’s recent announcement to utilize tariff revenue to assist U.S. farmers.

Beth also noted that many of these issues are overshadowed by the U.S. relationship with China. Chinese President Xi’s goals include self-sufficiency and global dominance. Plus, “they have the cards” to thwart a successful trade deal with the U.S. In closing, she stressed that technology is the defining battleground for the future and that we have to meet the China challenge head-on.

Beth Sanner, Former Presidential Intelligence Briefer, Former Deputy Director of National Intelligence

Executive Leadership Panel

Leah Anderson, President of WinField United moderated a high-level panel of industry executives to include Jeff Tarsi, President and CEO of Nutrien Ag Solutions, Julie Kenney, CEO of the Agribusiness Association of Iowa, Jake Joraanstad, CEO of Bushel and Adam Barlow, Manager of Technology Standards at John Deere.

The panel’s insights on the future of ag covered the waterfront and included factors such as increased consolidation, trade, Artificial Intelligence, technological advancements and regulatory challenges. The outcomes from these challenges are up to us. Will we elevate our voice to implement change that brings us out of the dark into the light or will we fail to engage and face the coming storm?

Executive Leadership Panel: Moderator, Leah Anderson, President, WinField United. Panelists: Jeff Tarsi, President & CEO, Nutrien Ag Solutions; Jake Joraanstad, CEO, Bushel; Julie Kenney, CEO, Agribusiness Association of Iowa. Not Pictured: Adam Barlow, Manager of Technology Standards, John Deere.

Jim VandeHei, Axios

Jim VandeHei

Jim VandeHei is the CEO of Axios and the author of Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More With Less.” 

Jim’s message was timely and simple. Because people are inundated with information from multiple sources, they read information that is brief and to the point and not digging deeply into information that doesn’t affect them. If ten words describe something perfectly, don’t think fifty words is better.

What great insight as the crop protection industry struggles to tell our story with a public that is disconnected and suspicious of modern agriculture. Thank you CropLife America for sponsoring and underwriting Jim’s presentation.

CPDA General Session

Passing of the Gavel

Patrick Ewan of Helena Agri-Enterprises accepted the gavel from outgoing CPDA Board Chairman Terry Abbott as he takes the reins as the 2025-26 Board Chairman. In his opening comments, Patrick discussed CPDA’s four core priorities and outlined how he intends to guide the organization towards implementing these objectives. Part of this relies on explaining complex issues into easy-to-understand terms so legislators and people outside of agriculture understand the challenges faced by farmers every day.

Outgoing CPDA Chairman Terry Abbott, Adjuvants Unlimited, passed the gavel on to incoming CPDA Chairman Patrick Ewan, Helena Agri-Enterprises.

CPDA Officers and Board

During the Business Session of the annual meeting we welcomed new and returning Executive Board members, including Greg Lindner (Croda) as Vice Chair, Casey McDaniel (Nutrien) as Treasurer, and Jonathan Selby (Innospec) as Secretary. At-large members Brad Swillen (Ethox), Arthur Bass (Chemorse), and David Bower (Brandt) were also confirmed. We thank all of these leaders for their service.

PRIA V Update

Conference speaker Laurie-Ann Flannagan is the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) Coordinator, and she brought the latest news and updates regarding PRIA V implementation. One of the key goals of the PRIA Coalition is to return predictability to the regulatory process. While things are improving, particularly for non-PRIA submissions, more needs to be done. She also mentioned that work on PRIA 6 is already underway, and the Coalition hopes to reauthorize PRIA prior to its expiration in 2027. 



Dave Bolin discussed the activities of the CPDA Working Group and the accomplishments regarding non-notification, the reduction of the non-PRIA backlog, new CSF guidance, bilingual labeling and self-certification progress.  

Dr. Dave Bolin, Innvictis; Laurie-Ann Flanagan, DCLRS; Terry Kippley, CPDA.

CPDA’s Adjuvant Certification Program

Dr. Eric Spandl moderated an extremely timely panel discussing CPDA’s Adjuvant Certification Program, and CPDA’s work with EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs to get Drift Reduction Adjuvants included in EPA’s Endangered Species Act strategies. Thanks to Austin Anderson of Helena and Dr. Connor Ferguson with Wilbur-Ellis for their contributions in helping advance these critical issues. 

ESA Panel: Austin Anderson, Helena Agri-Enterprises; Dr. Connor Ferguson, Wilbur-Ellis; Dr. Eric Spandl, WinField United; Lara Sowinski, Meister Media Worldwide.

CropLife Magazine Survey

Lara Sowinski of Meister Media Worldwide provided a fascinating overview of a CropLife Magazine survey of growers seeking information on growers familiarity and understanding of ESA pesticide use restrictions. While some growers are confident that they are compliant, others complained that the regulations are too complicated. Also, growers are familiar with Drift Reduction Adjuvants and already use them, while many others do not.  

CPDA Award Winners

Congratulations to Bill Smith of Helena and Aaron Locker of Kincannon & Reed for winning the CPDA Service to the Council Award!! Thank you, Bill and Aaron, for your years of selfless service!



Dr. Kevin Crosby was awarded the CPDA Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Crosby has spent countless hours in the service of CPDA and the industry. His unparalleled expertise on technical issues has been invaluable to CPDA’s reputation on many occasions. Thank you, Kevin!

2025 Lifetime of Service Winner

Kevin Crosby
Adjuvants Unlimited

2025 Service to Council Winner

Bill Smith
Helena Agri-Enterprises

2025 Service to Council Winner

Aaron Locker
Kincannon & Reed

Upcoming Industry Events

Until next time….