Settlements & Refunds · Notice
FTC settlement to lower pesticide prices for farmers
The FTC and a coalition of states say Corteva’s loyalty program blocked cheaper generic pesticides from reaching farmers. A 10-year order now ends it; a similar case against Syngenta continues.
The Federal Trade Commission and a coalition of state attorneys general have settled part of a long-running antitrust case against pesticide maker Corteva, Inc., in a deal the agency says will let cheaper generic pesticides reach American farmers. The FTC announced the settlement on September 28, 2026.
The allegation
The FTC and states sued Corteva and a second pesticide manufacturer, Syngenta Crop Protection AG, in 2022. Their complaint said each company ran a loyalty program that paid distributors an end-of-year rebate if the distributor bought nearly all of its yearly requirement of a given pesticide active ingredient from that manufacturer, even after the patent on that ingredient had expired.
Patent expiration is supposed to be the moment lower-priced generic versions of a drug or chemical can enter the market and pull prices down. The complaint alleges the loyalty programs defeated that by giving distributors a strong reason to keep buying almost exclusively from Corteva or Syngenta rather than stock a generic competitor, starving generic makers of the distribution access they needed to compete. The FTC says the result was that American farmers paid more for crop protection products than they would have in a market where post-patent generic competition actually worked.
What the settlement changes
Under the stipulated order, Corteva is barred for 10 years from conditioning payments or other benefits to a distributor on that distributor buying a high share of a pesticide active ingredient from Corteva, or otherwise limiting how much of a competing generic product the distributor purchases. The FTC frames this as removing the barrier that kept generics out of the distribution channel, which it expects will lower prices as those generics compete for farmers’ business.
"This settlement will do away with unfair corporate practices that have hurt farmers by impeding the sales of lower-priced products," said David Shaw, Principal Deputy Director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition. "The agreement the FTC and its state partners secured will give farmers better pesticide options at lower prices, enabling farmers to continue to put food on Americans’ tables."
What it does not do
There is no redress fund and no claim form. Unlike the FTC's consumer refund programs, this is a conduct order aimed at the market itself, not a payment to people who were overcharged. Farmers do not apply for anything; the settlement works, if it works, through distributors gaining access to generic pesticides they could not previously stock in volume.
The settlement resolves only the claims against Corteva. The FTC and states’ case against Syngenta, over what the complaint describes as a similar loyalty program, is still being litigated. The agency says the Corteva settlement builds on other recent action aimed at farm costs, including an earlier settlement with agricultural equipment maker Deere & Company.
What to do
- There is no claim to file. This is a conduct order, not a consumer refund program; it works by letting generic pesticide competitors reach distributors, which the FTC expects will lower prices over time. ftc.gov
- Farmers and distributors who buy Corteva pesticides can ask their supplier whether generic equivalents are now available on the active ingredients they use.
- The FTC’s case against Syngenta over a similar loyalty program continues; this settlement resolves only the claims against Corteva.
Questions readers ask
- Does this settlement pay farmers any money?
- No. The order does not create a redress fund or a claim form. It is a conduct remedy: it bars Corteva from running the loyalty program the FTC says kept generic competitors out, on the theory that letting generics compete will lower prices for farmers over time. There is nothing to apply for.
- What did Corteva’s loyalty program do?
- According to the FTC and states’ complaint, Corteva paid distributors end-of-year rebates conditioned on the distributor buying nearly all of its annual requirement of a given pesticide active ingredient from Corteva, once that ingredient’s patent had expired. That left distributors little room to also stock lower-priced generic versions of the same ingredient, which the complaint says let Corteva keep prices elevated after the patent protection that normally justifies a higher price had run out.
- What exactly does the order prohibit?
- For 10 years, Corteva may not condition payments or other benefits to a distributor on that distributor buying a high share of a pesticide active ingredient from Corteva, or otherwise limit how much of a competing generic the distributor buys.
- What happens with the case against Syngenta?
- It continues. The FTC and states sued both Corteva and Syngenta in 2022 over similar post-patent loyalty programs; today’s settlement resolves only the claims against Corteva, and the litigation against Syngenta is ongoing.
- Has the FTC done anything like this before?
- The agency describes this as building on other recent actions aimed at farm costs, including a settlement with agricultural equipment maker Deere & Company.
Mentioned:Federal Trade Commission
How we reported this
Built from 1 primary document linked in the Source Card. Every number was copied from the document, not from another outlet.
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Written by Mirza Seraj Baig · Checked against the documents in the source card (editorial standards).