Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri File Brief in Support of Effort to Stop California from Imposing Labeling Requirements on Critical Farming Inputs

LINCOLN — Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers today led a 15-State coalition that filed an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court to support uniform labeling requirements for critical farming inputs, ensuring farmers have access to glyphosate, one of the safest, most environmentally friendly, and most widely used herbicides on the market. 

The case concerns the labeling requirements set by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. For decades, relying on the best-available science, the federal government has repeatedly concluded that glyphosate is “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.” But some courts have issued rulings that require manufacturers to include a warning label on glyphosate-containing products, suggesting they are carcinogenic or face massive legal liability. This litigation risk threatens to drive manufacturers from the market and deprive Nebraska’s farmers of an essential tool for controlling weeds and maintaining high crop yields. 

“The law makes it clear that it is the federal government—and not California—that decides what sort of warning label must appear on glyphosate-containing products,” said Attorney General Hilgers. “Individual States can decide how to regulate glyphosate’s use within their borders, but what they cannot do is impose their policy views on other States via labeling mandates.”

Nebraska’s brief explains that without a uniform nationwide standard, States like California could impose labeling requirements that would increase costs, disrupt supply chains, and ultimately threaten access to glyphosate entirely. It also emphasizes the importance of agriculture to Nebraska’s economy and outlines the harms that would flow if Nebraska’s farmers were forced to use other, often more toxic, herbicides.

Joining Nebraska on the brief were the Attorneys General of Iowa, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah.