From 300 seed companies to 3
In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Farmer Zach Lahn cited a statistic that should give policymakers pause.
When he was growing up, he says, American farmers had more than 300 seed and input companies competing for their business.
Today, that number is closer to three — and those companies control roughly 85% of the market.
The consolidation of the seed and chemical industry did not happen overnight. A series of mergers — including Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto and ChemChina’s purchase of Syngenta — concentrated intellectual property, genetic patents, and pesticide production into fewer hands.
The result is a vertically integrated system where the same corporations increasingly control seeds, traits, chemical inputs, and, in some cases, grain handling and food processing downstream.
For farmers, this means:
- Fewer independent suppliers
- Limited ability to save or replant patented seed
- Higher input costs
- Reduced bargaining power
For consumers, it means a food system shaped less by regional diversity and more by corporate portfolios.
Read more from our partner, Farm Action: Seeds and Pesticides: Farming Under Corporate Patents
