State co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit include California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. The Federal Trade Commission vote to approve the proposed stipulated order was 2-0.

The FTC Bureau said the settlement will do away with unfair corporate practices that have hurt farmers by impeding the sales of lower-priced products. The FTC’s complaint against Corteva and Syngenta included evidence that distributors who did not comply with the loyalty programs faced threats of reduced support or termination of their contracts, according to court filings.

Why It Matters

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit in 2022 against Corteva and Syngenta, marking a precedent for antitrust enforcement against pesticide manufacturers for post-patent loyalty programs, with Syngenta’s case remaining ongoing as of 2026. Litigation against Syngenta regarding similar allegations remains ongoing.

Corteva Inc. was formed in 2019 as a spin-off of DuPont's agricultural division and Dow Chemical's crop science business, following their merger in 2017. In 2021, the Federal Trade Commission fined Corteva $5 million for misleading advertising related to its agricultural products, marking one of the agency’s earlier enforcement actions against the company. The Federal Trade Commission has previously taken action against other agribusiness firms for antitrust violations, including a 2020 case against Bayer CropScience for anti-competitive behavior in the herbicide market.

Timeline

On June 11, 2026, the settlement affects more than 100,000 farmers who purchased specific crop protection products from October 2018 through May 2026, as stated in a preliminary motion for settlement filed by the plaintiffs with a federal court on June 11, 2026. On July 30, 2026, it was reported that in June 2026, Corteva also settled a similar lawsuit filed by a group of farmers in the same court, according to DTN.

On September 28, 2026, the stipulated order prohibits Corteva, for 10 years, from implementing loyalty programs that condition payments to a Corteva distributor customer on the customer purchasing a greater-than-50% share of its requirements of a given pesticide active ingredient from Corteva, as stated in the Federal Trade Commission's press release on September 28, 2026. Also on September 28, 2026, Corteva Inc. will pay $35,000,000 to state plaintiffs under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, and Corteva Inc. will dismantle its pesticide loyalty program under the settlement.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission and states in 2022 alleging Corteva paid distributors to block competitors.

What's New

The FTC’s stipulated order requires Corteva to dismantle its loyalty program and prohibits the company from conditioning payments on distributors purchasing over 50% of a given pesticide active ingredient, applying to all post-patent active ingredients—not just the three named in the original complaint.

Corteva agreed to pay $85 million to over 100,000 farmers as part of a separate agreement resolved in July 2026, beyond the $35 million paid to state plaintiffs under the settlement. Corteva Inc. was formed in 2017 through the merger of DuPont's and Dow Chemical's agriscience businesses, creating one of the largest pesticide manufacturers in the U.S.

The stipulated order against Corteva includes a requirement that the company must report to the FTC every six months on its compliance with the ban on loyalty programs, providing detailed data on distributor purchases and sales.

How Sources Differ

Regarding pesticide active ingredients, ftc.gov states the stipulated order prohibits Corteva, for 10 years, from implementing loyalty programs that condition payments to a Corteva distributor customer on the customer purchasing a greater-than-50% share of its requirements of a given pesticide. The Federal Trade Commission stipulated order states Corteva is prohibited for 10 years from conditioning payments on distributors purchasing a high share of pesticide active ingredients.