U.S. corn growers are the most productive farmers in the world. But even highly productive farms can lose ground globally when they are forced to compete from a higher cost position. A new report from the National Corn Growers Association shows U.S. growers often pay more for major seed and crop inputs than their Brazilian competitors, in some cases, double the price. Chief Economist Krista Swanson has the details.
“Corn seed prices in the US averaged 68% higher than Brazil from 2023 to 2025. In fungicides, some comparisons showed US prices at more than double Brazilian levels. Herbicides followed a similar pattern with many comparisons approaching double Brazil’s prices. And for corn insecticides, US prices averaged 87% higher over that same period.
She says this report puts real data behind what many growers have already been feeling in their budgets.
“From a farmer’s perspective, these are real costs, not just abstract numbers. Farmers are making their seed and crop protection decisions long before the seasoned outcome will be known, and corn growers don’t get to pass those higher costs through the market. They’re selling into the same global commodity market as farmers in other nations. So when US farmers face a higher cost structure than their competitors, that risk lands directly on the farm balance sheet. Over time, higher costs mean tighter margins, greater financial strain, less flexibility to invest in new technology, and fewer opportunities to strengthen their farm for the future.”
Krista acknowledges that no international comparison can be perfect due to different regulations, markets, and production systems. However, the report shows that cost gaps are consistent and large enough not to be ignored. One of the patterns is that U.S. growers have limited access to lower-cost options compared to Brazil.
“Brazilian farmers appear to have more access to generics and single active ingredient products. US farmers are often buying premium premixes and products from the largest global manufacturers. Those products may bring real value and farmers definitely recognize performance, stewardship, innovation, and service and that those things matter. But when meaningful price gaps remain even among similar products, it raises questions about transparency, competition, and whether US growers have enough choices.”
What does a solution look like? Krista dives into what transparency would mean across the industry.
“What we mean by transparency is a better understanding of what’s driving those price differences. We can tell from some of the data that they’re probably part of the reason is some differences in products, the types of choices there. And so what we really want to know is where are those price differences reflecting actual differences in real value in the product and where are there unnecessary costs being added in.”
Matthew Frostic serves as first vice president of the National Corn Growers Association, and he’s a farmer in Applegate, Michigan. He says growers are frustrated by companies using trade remedy laws to restrict access to lower-cost inputs. Matt warns that these actions could put U.S. farmers out of business if the trend continues. He says there are many parties who should feel the pressure from the report’s data to provide greater transparency or policy to restore global competitiveness and level the playing field.
“It’s our input suppliers, yes, but it’s also here in DC with our legislative and administrative areas where we can rewrite laws, change laws that, you know, specifically could help make a better pricing system for our inputs. We work in a capitalist type world here, but with so few competitors, it acts more like a utilities market. So that’s where I think that transparency needs to happen and how pricing works. You know, there’s ideas with trade and CVDs with the ITC where they only look at the impact of what happens in the company and not necessarily the end user of that product. And so we see that to the fertilizer standpoint. We need to kind of rework policies so that the impact can be, you know, we can weigh in on those impacts on those situations as an industry, too.”
Matthew Frostic, vice president of the National Corn Growers Association and Krista Swanson, chief economist, are responding to recent findings that U.S. growers often pay more for inputs than their Brazilian competitors. The association says this difference matters for farm profitability, the global competitiveness of U.S. agriculture, and the long-term strength of rural economies.