SCOTUS Affirms FIFRA Preemption

This morning, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) dropped a series of major decisions, including the Monsanto v. Durnell case. SCOTUS ruled in a 7-2 decision that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) "expressly preempts Durnell's state-law failure-to-warn claim," meaning state failure-to-warn claims cannot supersede labeling requirements imposed by the Enivronmental Protection Agency (EPA) through FIFRA. The majority held decision was delivered by Justice Brett Kavanaugh and joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Amy Comey Barrett. Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson filed the dissenting opinion, which was joined by Justice Neil M. Gorsuch.

Statement from Tennessee Farm Bureau President Eric Mayberry

"The Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation applauds today's decision by the United States Supreme Court in Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, reaffirming that Congress intended pesticide labeling to be governed by a single, uniform federal standard under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).The Court held that state-law failure-to-warn claims cannot be used to impose labeling requirements that differ from those approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

"This decision provides much-needed clarity for American agriculture. Farmers make critical production decisions based on products that have undergone extensive scientific review through the EPA's rigorous registration process. Allowing individual states, or juries, to effectively rewrite federally approved labels would create a patchwork of requirements that undermines consistency, increases legal uncertainty, and threatens access to essential crop protection tools.

"Tennessee Farm Bureau will continue advocating for science-based policies that support farmers and protect our nation's food supply."