34 / SEEDWORLD.COM JUNE 2026 FROM TOUGH FARM Bill talks to tariff turbulence, the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) says seed companies need clarity, collaboration and a louder voice. Seed companies have always oper ated in a complicated policy environment. What feels different now is how those pressures are stacking up. Domestic programs, global trade, tariffs, conservation funding, research pri orities, USDA staffing shifts and election- year politics are no longer separate conversations. They are colliding in ways that affect how seed moves, how compa nies plan and how much uncertainty the industry can absorb. For ASTA, that means the work has become more urgent and more intercon nected. ASTA vice president, government affairs Janae Brady says the biggest issue isn’t a single policy fight. It’s the com pounding lack of certainty. “The lack of certainty has been com pounding in a unique way,” Brady says. “When you look at things like Farm Bill extensions and uncertainty around this, the core five-year authorization package that the agricultural industry has relied on for so long, we've had uncertainty before. We've had extensions. We've had lapses, a lot of delays getting new farm bills in place.” That uncertainty looks different this time. “We’re in a really unique situation right now where the Farm Bill’s actually been split apart and broken up, and certain pieces are getting authorized in certain bills, which leaves others out,” she says. “That’s resulting in more of a reliance on ad hoc disaster assistance for producers, and more annual need for supports there.” For seed companies, that fragmenta tion makes long-term planning harder. Midterms, Momentum and the Waiting Game Policy uncertainty is unfolding in a mid term election year, where priorities can move quickly or stall entirely. “We're running into a midterm elec tion, which can certainly accelerate some issues,” Brady says. “But it can also slow things down because there is a focus on midterms and a focus on campaigning and on moving into the next two-year cycle.” At the same time, the industry doesn’t get much breathing room. “I think the next presidential cycle is one that, at least right now, is a lot more open than we've had before,” Brady says. “So there's a lot of questions around what Domestic farm programs and global trade fights may seem separate, but both are reshaping the cost, timing and certainty seed companies depend on. By Aimee Nielson, Seed World U.S. Editor WHEN POLICY GETS PERSONAL FOR SEED that looks like and where we'll go from here. I think November might tell us a little bit about where that will go.” Tariffs Hit Seed’s R&D Pipeline On the global side, ASTA vice president, science, trade and global affairs Sam Crowell says trade policy is hitting closer to home. The issue isn’t just whether seed crosses borders. It’s how tariffs and uncertainty are reshaping the cost of innovation. Crowell says Section 301 investiga tions, the legal process the U.S. uses to investigate trade practices and impose tariffs, are part of a broader shift in U.S. trade policy. “It’s interesting, because the 301 inves tigations are really happening against the backdrop of a lot of change in U.S. trade policy right now,” he says. “If you just look at the numbers, according to USDA data, 2025 was the worst year for U.S. seed trade in over a decade; we had our lowest exports since 2012 and our lowest imports since 2010. From a seed sector perspective, that is not reflective of cor recting past trade imbalances with certain trading partners.” Instead, he says, it reflects rising costs. “What these trends reflect is a signifi cant increase in the cost of doing busi ness in the United States,” he says. Crowell says ASTA has been pushing for relief. “We've been very vocal from the beginning,” he says. “We've been wor ried about what these tariffs would mean for the seed industry, and we have been asking for workarounds. I think now that the numbers are clear, hope fully it will resonate more with adminis tration officials.”
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