U.S. corn and soybean farmers are paying “substantially” more for seeds and pesticides than their counterparts in Brazil, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Corn Growers Association.

“The price gouging that is happening for U.S. farmers is even worse than many of us suspected,” said Matt Frostic, a Michigan farmer and NCGA’s first vice president. The higher costs paid by producers versus their largest rivals in Brazil is occurring as U.S. corn farmers are on track to lose money for a fourth consecutive year, he said.

The report, prepared along with data firm Kynetec, focuses on seeds and crop production products and not fertilizer.

Key findings include:

  • U.S. prices across all corn seed comparisons averaging a 68% premium over Brazil from 2023-25
  • Some fungicides showing U.S. prices more than double Brazilian levels
  • Some U.S. herbicide prices near double those of Brazil across corn and soybeans
  • Insecticide gaps that varied by crop but often favored Brazil, with U.S. corn insecticide prices averaging 87% higher from 2023-25

“U.S. growers are often paying more, and in some cases a lot more, for the same broad categories of inputs, and these are not small differences,” NCGA chief economist Krista Swanson told reporters. “They’re large enough to affect decisions on the farm and the long-term competitiveness of U.S. agriculture.”

NCGA said the report is intended to shine light on the problem. It also is calling for heightened transparency from input providers and for pricing to reflect “the realities of the current economic environment.”

Swanson stressed that the study shows cost differences even when taking into account that U.S. and Brazilian farmers operate under different conditions, rules, markets and production systems.

“This report doesn’t claim that every product or acre is identical,” Swanson told reporters. “It does show that cost gaps are consistent enough and large enough to matter, and that pattern is simply too clear to ignore.”

Currency exchange rates explain part of the cost difference but not all of it, she added.

NCGA said its report stems from months of work by the group's Inputs Task Force, chaired by Frostic and formed to look into record or near-record input cost highs in recent years.

Trade policy 

Brazilian farmers appear to have more access to generics and single-active ingredient products, whereas U.S. producers are often purchasing premium premixes and products from the largest global manufacturers, according to NCGA.

Those products may bring “real value, but when meaningful price gaps remain, even among similar products, it raises questions about transparency, competition, and whether U.S. growers have enough choices,” Swanson said.

Frostic said some companies are using U.S. laws to “cut, reduce or cut off our access to the generic market.” He also reiterated NCGA’s condemnation of Bayer's Ruveon unit seeking countervailing duties on glyphosate imported from China. 

“That is almost certainly going to increase our costs for glyphosate, or potentially cut off imported generic products entirely,” Frostic said. “So, not only are we paying a premium for our products, those same companies are now reducing our access to generic products thanks to U.S. trade laws. If this trend continues, input providers will force their own customers out of business.”

Frostic said in addition to pursuing policies that would make U.S. farmers more globally competitive, like leveling the playing field with Brazil on ethanol market accesses, NCGA seeks a “legislative remedy to the countervailing duty process that will require the interests of the public to be considered by U.S. trade authorities.”

Ruveon, Bayer's recently launched business to house its U.S. glyphosate operations, said in a statement that it submitted the petitions because "unfair trade practices in the glyphosate market are occurring and have gone on for years."

"The government has mechanisms in place to ensure a fair and competitive marketplace and part of this framework is to ensure that foreign companies do not engage in unfair trade practices," the statement from Ruveon said. "This action is necessary because these behaviors impact the ability of companies to make long-term investments and innovate for American farmers, a crucial component to ensuring a vibrant U.S. ag sector and to ensure domestic food security." 

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