Frequently Asked Questions

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1. GFA is Growers Freedom Alliance (Freedom from the evolved constraints which have entangled the agrichemical supply chains with anti-competitive strategies which are literal chains from the prior years of consolidation).
2. Please read these FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions). The main qualification is that you purchase agrichemicals and apply agrichemicals while raising a crop and these products will be applied within 250 miles of Lubbock, Texas.
3. Email GFA for more information: info@gfatexas.com
4. In the email, please include the following: Your Contact Name, Entity that farms (could be the contact or an entity), cell phone, address of contact and entity if different, and the location of the farm where delivery of chemicals will need to take place.
5. Can a member be a non-person such as an LLC, corporation, partnership, or joint venture?  

• Yes, an entity can be a member of GFA Purchasing Group. 
• Entity could be corporation, LLC, or a partnership for example.
• If a contact manages or participates in multiple entities, then each entity can be a member.

Vulpes has a timeline for the first products to be ready for use by 4-1-2024, and they are ahead of schedule. Vulpes has samples of our surfactants ready now. GFA will keep building memberships to meet this target. The next target is to complete the facility's retrofit by the end of September 2024. Email us to schedule a talk and get a current Membership Contract for review. GFA's goal is to reshore the production of active ingredients to the USA as soon as possible. We believe that is not a question of IF but When we have a problem receiving products from China in the future. We are a breath away from limited supply and learned about what that could entail during the global pandemic. 

1. Initial Membership for the customer who must be a farmer: $25,000.
2. The annual maintenance fee is $1,250 (5%) and is due by the end of each year.
3. Do farmers who are members of GFA own GFA? No farmers are customers of GFA when they buy a membership in GFA. This membership will give them certain rights as a customer of GFA, but it is not ownership rights. The expected benefits are lower prices on chemicals and rebates returned to the members. Rebates are based on GFA being profitable in net profits from distribution. The rebates are specific to customers in good standing as to membership fees, and their accounts are current on the purchase of chemicals to GFA.
4. What is the term of the membership for the buying group? Ten years and Memberships expire on 1-1-2034.

1. A lease has been signed between Vulpes Corp and Reese Technology Center on  Building 930, which is located at the former Reese Air Force Base. 
2. This three-story building (95,578 SF) has east and west wings, including a cargo elevator. Each wing contains office space and four flight simulator bays, which will be used for chemical manufacturing. There are eight bays total, and they are perfect for Vulpes production. 
3. Vulpes has been in the plant since mid-January and is ahead of schedule on the retrofit. 

1. GFA hopes to create less expensive and of the highest quality generic agrichemicals, surfactants, adjuvants, and plant growth regulators alternatives for farmers. 
2. GFA is a regional business around Lubbock, Texas, for a distribution chain for off-patent (generic) agrichemicals. GFA is working to bring Vulpes Corp, a partner firm, to manufacture agrichemicals in a manufacturing facility near Lubbock, Texas. Vulpes has moved to Lubbock from St. Louis and is working on the production facility now. Grower Freedom Alliance (GFA) will distribute the production to farmers who are members of the GFA Buying Group.

1. A patented chemical active ingredient (AI) is protected from competition by the patent for 20 years. At the end of the patent term, it is off-patent, and that is when others can make the generic active ingredient of a previously patented agrichemical.  
2. Newly patented products and innovations are extremely limited in the current agricultural market for farmers. Most chemicals that are top sellers to farmers are no longer under patent protection (this represents 80% of Active Ingredients today). 
3. The last decade’s consolidation of agricultural and seed companies was evangelized as supporting innovation and giving input companies broader capabilities. The truth has been that farmers and others (including antitrust regulators at Federal and State levels) have realized that greater market power has suppressed innovation. 
4. GFA believes there will be highly exotic efforts over the next few years to create new patent protection on existing chemistry using new formulations that bring limited value to the farmer but keep costs high for the products. 
5. The main concern for farmers is that with the current supply chain controlled by a few large companies, and will these companies allow competition from generics? This GFA initiative for onshore manufacturing of agrichemicals is an avenue to bring lower pricing to farmers, and certain parties in the supply chain will continue to try to block these efforts. Consolidation has suppressed innovation by moving the company's focus to marketing and selling the current portfolios. These companies have increased spending to create barriers for other less expensive generics to make it to the farmgate. 
6. Generic chemicals can be produced by anyone when the patent has expired. In 2023, the world’s top 20 active ingredients based on sales volume were off-patent except for one patent that will expire in 2024. The point is that the farmer should see significant price reductions in many agrochemical products used at the farm, but that is not happening. We see prices lower in 2024 as the supply chain is overstocked on actives out of China. This will correct itself during 2024, and GFA will be ready to help you continue to lower costs in 2025. 
7. The fact that patent protection has expired only allows others to produce the chemical, but they will need to develop a manufacturing process and be granted an EPA registration. Vulpes Corp is an expert in chemical processes, and they have created these processes for their company and others worldwide. GFA is a great partner in the chemical distribution space, and Vulpes is filing patents based on its currently developed processes.

1. GFA uses a “Buying Group Company” or a “Group Purchasing Organization” company model in its structure.  
2. Currently, most distribution groups bring the active ingredients from offshore (China and India) and formulate them into a final product. To our knowledge, no one is yet trying to re-shore manufacturing in a regional model to take advantage of a shorter distribution chain in terms of both the number of participants in the supply chain and the distance to the end customer. 

1. GFA anticipates selling directly to the farmer members and creating relationships with Ag Retailers that understand these concerns. Ag retailers are an integral part of the distribution chain, and we are working to clarify how a working relationship with GFA can benefit both GFA members and the Ag Retailer. 
2. There is anti-competitive behavior from the most significant suppliers toward generic chemicals sold at the ag retailers. These big companies have a deep relationship with ag retail. Therefore, GFA will often go directly to the buying group of customers. However, GFA desires to collaborate with any ag retailer that brings value to our group. GFA desires Ag Retailers to be paid for their services, and they strengthen the supply chain in many ways.
3. GFA wants to end the incentives and rebates that the largest agricultural companies provide to agri-retailers. The idea is to guarantee the Ag Retailer has a sustainable profit margin but not allow incentives to decrease competing products’ availability. Agricultural giants' incentives have been a barrier to others trying to enter the market.
4. The incentives at GFA will be redirected from the Ag Retailer directly to the farmer who is a buying group member via lower prices for the farmer and farmer member rebates. Farmers are indentured servants to a bloated supply chain unwilling to change. GFA is committed to creating change at the level of generic off-patent agrichemicals produced in the United States with higher purity and lower cost. GFA further desires to collaborate with our ag retailer partners, supplying additional value to GFA members. GFA wants to end loyalty agreements that put farmers as pawns in the game, allowing a few to control all the players.

1. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) suspects that there is anticompetitive behavior in the current agrichemical supply chain, and it filed a lawsuit to begin to address this issue in the fall of 2022 against Syngenta and Corteva. The lawsuit was originally joined by a number attorneys general from major agricultural states including Texas.  
2. Link to the Case Proceedings at the FTC: https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/191-0031-syngenta-corteva-ftc-v
3. On January 12th 2024 a Judge denied the request for dismissal of the suit and the action is going forward against these manufacturers. The Judge found sufficient evidence not to dismiss the suit.

1. GFA realizes that creating new proprietary patented products by our biggest companies brings innovation, and the agrichemical market is no exception. However, in the last 25 years, there has been a steady decline in new active ingredients discovered for crop protection, partially due to escalating costs of R&D (Research and Development). Higher regulatory and field-testing costs and increasing scientific complexity further compound this difficulty in developing new agrichemicals. The history of herbicides helps us realize that the well-known active ingredients are almost ancient in their timelines. For example, glyphosate (a/k/a Roundup) was discovered in 1970 by John Frantz, a Monsanto chemist. That was 54 years ago, and that timeframe helps us understand that the possibility of finding a new innovative herbicide is slim. GFA’s goal is to produce high-quality generic products of high purity and to support a cost structure that can help farmers be profitable. The Vulpes brand of generic chemicals will increase confidence in using generic agrichemicals manufactured by Fulpes and distributed by GFA.
2. The concern is genuine about R&D and the complexities of new product development. The question then becomes, “Why would these companies with such a large market share want to risk R&D dollars?” Especially when they can merge, block competition, and create ways to extend patent life using postscripts to patents. 
3. This leads to the realization that new patented products and innovations are extremely limited in the current agrichemical market for farmers. Most chemicals that are top sellers to farmers are no longer under patent protection (only 20% of Active Ingredients have current patent protection). The last decade’s consolidation of the agrichemical and seed companies was evangelized to support innovation and give input companies broader capabilities. The TRUTH has been realized by farmers and others (including antitrust regulators at federal and state levels) that greater market power has suppressed innovation. GFA believes there will be highly exotic efforts over the next few years to create new patent protection on existing chemistry using new formulations that bring limited value to the farmer but keep costs high. 
4. The main concern for farmers is that with the current supply chain controlled by a few companies, will this group allow competition from generics to bring lower pricing to farmers? Consolidation has suppressed innovation by moving the company's focus to marketing and selling the current portfolios. These companies have increased spending, creating barriers for other generics to reach the farm gate. 

1. GFA has a partnership with Vulpes Corp and its leadership. The Vulpes team's CEO, Rick Shang, immigrated to the United States from China 18 years ago with his father and mother. His father, Dihu Yu, is a pioneer in chemical process engineering and lean manufacturing for agrichemicals and pharmaceuticals in China and will bring that experience to the partnership between Vulpes and GFA. The collaboration with GFA will allow Dihu to recreate a family business success on American soil. He is proud of his decision to immigrate because he loves the freedom of fully owning a business.
2. Vulpes Corp. is a U.S. company founded in 2018 that is dedicated to onshoring chemical production back to the United States. Onshoring or reshoring from China means bringing Chinese manufacturing talent and assets to the U.S. for production. Vulpes’s business model is to serve as a strategic supplier for global chemical corporations and a direct supplier of low-cost agrichemicals to farmers. Rick, Dihu, and the Vulpes Team want to join GFA to create a competitive generic chemical supply chain for farmers. 
3. Vulpes’s technology and R&D come from an experienced team led by Dihu Yu, its CTO. Dihu Yu pioneered the manufacturing offshoring (U.S. to China) trend in the 1990s and early 2000s. He built a team of researchers to support global corporations, such as BASF, DuPont, GSK, and others. 
4. Dihu created the complete process for global manufacturers in China, including developing new methods, finding the supply chain of raw materials, and operating factories in China. In the process, he grew his company, Dike Chemical, from $0 to USD 80 million in annual revenue in two decades. He is excited to bring onshore manufacturing back to the U.S. and be part of GFA’s efforts to build cost-competitive and innovative manufacturing infrastructure in the U.S. 
5. Greg Shapiro, Vulpes COO, manages Vulpes' operations. Greg built his family manufacturing business, Shapiro Brothers, from USD 1 million to more than USD 90 million in annual revenue before selling the company to Icahn Enterprises. Greg is experienced in low-cost, large-scale operations and is very skilled in assembling and disassembling chemical plants. His knowledge of this industry subsection is critical to getting the facility up and running.
6. Vulpes has signed MOUs and framework agreements to deliver essential chemicals in agricultural, industrial, and other sectors to its industry partners starting in 2024 to alleviate supply chain bottlenecks and offer a globally competitive choice in the United States. These alternative products will be critical for Vulpes Corp launch, and GFA supports this array of potential income streams. GFA and the farmers must support Vulpes Corp in producing agrichemicals for GFA and other chemicals. This matrix will allow us to survive lean years when the sales of agrichemicals could be lacking in West Texas due to weather.

1. GFA leadership has two years of due diligence with Vulpes Corp. Billy Tiller, CEO of GFA, met Rick Shang and Greg Shapiro at the 2022 Ag Innovation Challenge sponsored by the American Farm Bureau. Vulpes was a Top 10 Finalist that year for its innovative new product, Carbon Black Acid (CBA). 
2. In developing CBA, Vulpes collaborated with 15 research and agricultural extension teams across 10 U.S. research institutions to develop its patented CBA. CBA is a fertilizer and seed coating that can improve a plant’s nutrient and water uptake by up to 200%, reduce fertilizer loss and its environmental impact, and reduce fertilizer expenditure by farmers. Vulpes works with a significant fertilizer supplier and will do worldwide CBA trials in 2024.
3. Video of Rick Shang's Comments for Innovation Challenge:  https://youtu.be/J8YfvXq40pk?t=21
4. After the January 2022 meeting, Vulpes and GFA worked on understanding if Vulpes could use its manufacturing ability to commercialize novel agrochemical materials and onshore existing agrochemical production. We knew that bringing assets from China was out of the question, but could we bring the necessary talent for lean manufacturing for agrichemicals? GFA now knows the answer is YES!
5. GFA’s due diligence included receiving two products from the Chinese plant in 2022 and doing small block testing on fields managed by Billy Tiller and two other farmers. There were less than 10 acres in each field, but multiple fields. The products were a plant growth regulator (generic Mepiquat Pentaborate) and a pre-emergent herbicide (Trifluralin), both produced by Vulpes Corp. in China plants in 2022. Both products were applied and worked well or better than the comparative products in a side-by-side trial. Vulpes claimed each product was 99%+ purity. 
6. Since that first meeting, Billy Tiller has spent hundreds of hours with Rick Shang, Dihu Yu, Greg Shapiro, and others at Vulpes Corp. He has also consulted chemists knowledgeable about manufacturing chemical processes to discuss and confirm what Vulpes had told him. For this exact purpose, he consulted friends at Texas Tech University, who were extremely helpful.
7. Vulpes Corp and GFA have spent the last nine months in 2023 investigating potential facilities in the Lubbock area. GFA and Vulpes are thankful to the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance (LEDA) and their tremendous staff for all the introductions made and all the challenging work. Vulpes has found a site in the Lubbock area that can be retrofitted cost-effectively. Vulpes has secured a site and signed a lease with the Reese Technology Center (former Reese Air Force Base). Tremendous thanks to the Reese Technology Center leadership for working to benefit the farming community with the support of this initiative.

1. YES, and let me use this example to explain: In 2005, Dihu Yu helped FMC, an American company, industrialize AIM (also marketed as Affinity, or by the chemical name, Carfentrazone-ethyl) in China for the first time. 
2. His main improvement was replacing the raw materials. FMC initially used Phosgene as the starting material. This organic compound is highly toxic. Dihu used Potassium cyanate (low toxicity) (not to be confused with highly toxic Potassium cyanide) as the starting material for his reaction. In 2005, potassium cyanate was not industrialized in China. Dihu industrialized the production of potassium cyanate in China for the first time using processes his team had developed. 
3. An added improvement was replacing the catalyst. Dihu improved on the catalysts, which were expensive, precious metal, and Pd-based. He discovered an alternative, less expensive catalyst than the original Pd-based catalyst.
4. Also, he changed the process in this way. Dihu changed the diazotization process and the use of Azides. Diazotization is an extremely explosive manufacturing process that was eventually banned in China. Azides are also highly volatile chemicals used in the process. He further shortened the manufacturing process from 7 steps to 5 steps. 
5. Ultimately, he achieved a safer, higher quality, and cheaper manufacturing process for Aim. The cost of production dropped by 40% from the original cost calculated by FMC, and the new process massively reduced the release of waste.

1. Vulpes Corp will toll manufacture certain chemicals for GFA on a cost-plus basis. GFA will take on the risk of forecasting demand for certain chemicals needing to be manufactured, make orders from Vulpes Corp, receive an inventory of agrichemicals, receive payment from customers, pay Vulpes Corp for toll manufacturing, and distribute inventory to the members who want the agrichemicals. 
2. Vulpes will be able to do “Just in Time” manufacturing in emergency situations. If GFA has missed its forecast and a chemical is in short supply, Vulpes will run emergency batches. This will increase the costs, so it would not be relied upon as routine operations. Still, it would provide supply to GFA members that is nonexistent in the current agrichemical manufacturing scenarios. GFA has priority in manufacturing from Vulpes, but we want to do accurate forecasting. GFA wants to be a great partner to Vulpes.
3. In addition, GFA will also pay members certain rebates on any year that GFA is profitable from the operation of the distribution of agrichemicals to members and others.
4. GFA will function as a lender to Vulpes Corp. GFA will sell memberships for group buying to farmers (sole proprietors and entities). These proceeds will be loaned to Vulpes for purchasing equipment for the plant, making repairs to the building, filing both formulation and active ingredient registrations, and purchasing raw materials inventory. GFA will secure these loans with Vulpes assets. 

1. Vulpes will have other customers, and that is beneficial to GFA. GFA needs Vulpes to run profitably as soon as possible, and there must be other customers for stability. GFA also needs Vulpes to have stability from year to year, and the volatile weather and growing conditions around Lubbock are not conducive to stability. 
2. GFA will be a priority for Vulpes, and that will be assured. The agrichemicals will be sold to farmers at significant savings but will still be some of Vulpes' most profitable production,

1. Failure is always a risk when starting or funding a business. GFA has performed extensive due diligence on Vulpes Corp. The potential pitfall of Vulpes' operational failure is always a concern. GFA has reviewed the Vulpes' economic modeling and operational modeling and has an elevated level of confidence in the Vulpes' ability to perform in the U.S., but GFA will have continuous monitoring.
2. The question related to Vulpes ownership benefiting at the expense of GFA and its members from selling Vulpes Corp. to other shareholders or another entity. This will be mitigated by GFA contractually having the right to VETO any sale for ten years from the start of the agreement. This veto right is enforced by obligating Vulpes to notify GFA of a potential change in ownership and Vulpes needing GFA permission to change ownership. This will give GFA the right to allow the change of ownership but with a thorough understanding of its ramifications to our goals. It would be possible to change ownership if the new owner could honor GFA’s contracts for production. There is also the possibility of cost recovery. The effort would be to recover our outstanding amounts on any loans if the business was not successfully scaling the operations.
3. GFA is not concerned about the sale of assets as GFA will have a close working relationship with Vulpes. In addition, Vulpes' assets will be collateral for loans from GFA to Vulpes. This collateral will include all Vulpes assets, so a sale of assets would not be legally possible without GFA receiving the proceeds up to the loan amount.

1. GFA Buying Group Members will have access to chemicals produced by Vulpes at a cost negotiated by GFA. GFA anticipates those prices to be 20% to 40% below other prices for a similar generic agrichemical. Our forecasts expect when the business is scaled, and the overhead is spread among a larger portfolio that the prices could be as much as 45% lower than competing products.
2. Vulpes will produce the active ingredients in the USA when technically and legally feasible.  This is most cases, but will not include glyphosate or paraquat actives. The lawsuits around both of these products gives Vulpes pause in being a manufacuture of these active ingredients. However, Vulpes will formulate active ingredients from China for both of these products to have availability in 2025.
3. GFA Buying Group Members will receive rebates from GFA based on their membership status in a particular year. The rebates are based on the distribution division of GFA being profitable.
4. Farmers are at the end of the road in accepting a continual steady rise of chemical prices. Farmers have yet to see any significant reduction in the cost of off patent (generic) chemicals. The GFA and Vulpes partnership will drive to lower the cost of the targeted products that are generic agrichemicals to be produced by Vulpes. Vulpes Corp has done extensive modeling of projected costs for manufacturing in the United States. These cost analyses are accounting for the anticipated variable costs of production and the overhead based on a comparable plant in China. This is an exciting time working with Vulpes and their goal to partner with GFA, the distribution partner to farmer members.
5. The focus of Grower Freedom Alliance (GFA) will be to create stability and sourcing options for agrichemicals. Currently, most agrichemical active ingredients are produced offshore in China or India, and their prices and availability are affected by transport and world trade. In addition, the agrichemical market is an oligopoly or near monopoly controlled by only a handful of suppliers. In the last ten years there has been continued consolidation in the agrichemical supply chain and therefore today there are only 4 major firms (Syngenta, Bayer, BASF, and Corteva) that control over 62% (2020 data) of this market in the world. Farmers have spent decades trying to solve this problem and find a competitive balance in the market. They have formed ag supply cooperatives and have tried to scale their farms in size to reach more buying power, but without much success. 
6. The issue is further complicated because when you evaluate the top 8 companies manufacturing agrichemicals then this stands for 90% of agrichemical sales worldwide (based on 2020 sales).

1. Any individual or entity classified as a farmer or an entity serving farmers and who will be buying agrichemicals. Individuals must be qualifying individuals 18 years of age or older.
2. GFA reserves the right to refuse membership to any applicant. Membership is subject to all rules adopted by GFA, including our privacy policies and practices, and they may be amended from time to time.
3. GFA does not expect member farmers to become pesticide dealers. The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) has strict rules under which GFA sells agrichemicals to our members, and we want to abide by these rules. We expect GFA agrichemicals to be priced the same for all members. If we find someone selling their allocation out of the region or to those within the area at an increased price, we will end your membership, and you will not be refunded any membership fees. Our goal is to lower the pricing of the agrichemicals we can produce with Vulpes Corp., and we need members who are aligned with our goals.
4. Some entities serving farmers have joined GFA, and they currently have a pesticide dealer license. GFA will have written agreements that will allow them to sell chemicals to others and provide last-mile distribution to members linked to that specific ag retailer. This process is still evolving, but it is exciting, as many are seeing the value of making chemicals in Texas. 
5. Memberships are transferable: The party receiving the membership must qualify and be accepted by GFA. 

1. GFA will annually rebate 65% of the net profits from distribution. This will be the net profits after income taxes and all associated expenses, including amortization, depreciation, and interest expenses. The total rebate will be prorated back to members equally.
2. Net Profits from Distribution will not include income from membership fees or any revenue except sales of agrichemicals to members and non-members. Nonmember chemical sales could evolve as we increase the capacity at the plant and have chemicals outside of our allocations to members. These unallocated chemicals will be sold to nonmembers through ag retail, and those profits will also be part of the distributions to members. They would be sold at increased prices, and our members will always have preferential pricing.
3. Distribution Expenses include the total cost of products, storage, transportation, billing, and all costs associated directly with procurement and distribution. In addition, all indirect costs related to admin and overhead will be included in this calculation. 
4. Members are incentivized to use GFA chemicals whenever possible because of the lower prices and the rebates. This will grow the network beyond membership in the future and to nonmember farmers once we have the increased supply from Vulpes. The nonmember sales will be included in the gross sales when calculating the net profits from distribution.

1. GFA will guarantee Vulpes the sale of a specific volume of chemicals they can produce for GFA. This will be based on the members' polling.
2. GFA will offer these chemicals to their membership based on directly allocating the produced volume across all members. All chemicals are available equally to the membership. If the member agrees to their chemical allocation in volume, then payment is made to GFA, and delivery or pickup is scheduled. If the member does not desire an allocation of a particular agrichemical, then a portion of this unused allocation can become available to other members equally. This is at GFA's discretion. All payments are made to GFA before delivery or pickup by a customer/member.
3. The modeling of farms for 400 members is based on approximately four to five thousand acres. There is no one-size-fits-all, but we have done our best.

1. GFA believes Lubbock is the perfect place to re-shore agrichemical manufacturing. The hub city has a solid agricultural base, a strong research university with Texas Tech, a great labor market, support from the city of Lubbock, and support from Reese Technology Center. 
2. A shorter ag chemical distribution chain will develop with onshore manufacturing. We have not found another manufacturer in the U.S. producing generic agrichemicals except for Albaugh. We have discovered formulators that import active ingredients from China and India and then formulate and package them on U.S. soil. We have searched for lean manufacturing alternatives and have not found a workable way to create cost savings. The partnership with Vulpes Corp is critical to making fundamental changes in the market.

1. Yes, it can be price-competitive with the current offshore manufacturing. The time is NOW, and let us explain why: Labor costs are increasing in China, and China is no longer considered a low-cost country.
2. This article describes the current cost of labor in China:  https://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/global_labor_rates_china_is_no_longer_a_low_cost_country#:~:text=China%20no%20longer%20low%2Dcost&text=The%20research%20concluded%20that%20China,India%2C%20Mexico%2C%20and%20Vietnam.
3. Chemical active ingredients (AI) arriving in the U.S. from China are subject to tariffs, a/k/a Trump Tariffs, of as much as 25%. There have been exceptions sometimes, but this policy seems like it is here to stay, given the current tension with China. Another current fact is that former President Trump has boldly stated in recent speeches that he will get much more aggressive with China and expects to raise tariffs to 60% if elected.
4. Water quality is a problem in China, as past pollution has made it exceedingly difficult to use untreated groundwater for chemical manufacturing. Most groundwater is already contaminated by past pollution and is a prevalent source of contamination of AI coming from China.
5. Electricity costs are comparable in China, and natural gas is cheaper. Both of these factors make the USA a great place. 
6. Farmers realize during the recent pandemic that a global shutdown of trade can affect the price of critical inputs for farming. The cost of agrichemicals escalated by 70% to 300% as the demand remained constant, but access to supplies dwindled. A similar shutdown could come from pandemics or global conflicts in the future.
7. Congress recently authorized through legislation, and USDA administered the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program in 2023. This program made $500 million in grants available to increase American-made fertilizer production. The reasoning is to spur competition and combat price hikes on U.S. farmers. There is speculation that soon it will be necessary to conduct a similar effort for agrichemicals. I want GFA to be ready to take advantage of this effort and bring expanded production to its members.
8. The food, feed, and fiber supply chains to major U.S. retailers are genuinely concerned about how the raw materials (our cotton and grains) are produced and the environmental impact of farmer’s production practices. GFA and its members are about to embark on an incredible journey that is a story for the ages. It is not to be organic but to farm responsibly and be concerned about when, how much, and the contents of all agrichemicals that we apply to our soils and plants.

1. GFA will focus on two product lines: Generic off patent agrichemicals and surfactants/adjuvants.
2. The first agrichemical line will include a Plant Growth Regulator for Cotton to launch in 2024. This is Mepiquat Pentaborate a/k/a generic form of the former branded product Pentia. More agrichemicals will include a complete line of herbicides which will launch over a period of the next few years as the EPA registrations are completed by Vulpes and the processes are perfected. 
3. The second product line will be Surfactant/Adjuvants. There will be 2 products provided in 2024 to the GFA buying membership. It is no secret that for most ag distribution companies and the ag retailers that proprietary blends of surfactants have very robust margins. Advanced surfactants have appeared and are used with varied claims.
4. In 2025 we will expand our active ingredient production and our formulations. A few things will be formulations of Atrazine, S-Metolachlor, Paraquat, and Glyphosate. Vulpes will be making actives for Flumi, Trifluralin, and generic Finish. Email us for a current list and expected prices.
5. 2026 will bring several more chemicals to market and we plan to be producing Glufosinate in that year. We will have a better version known as L-Glufosinate and are working on that for 2026. There are also 3 other generic products staged for 2026.

1. The current supply chain for generic agrichemicals is a race to the bottom as there is tremendous downward price pressure at chemical production facilities in India and China. The lowest-priced Active Ingredient (AI) is sold and consumed in the current agricultural market and then available to farmers. The low profitability of offshore manufacturing plants leaves little investment in R&D, quality control, or the discovery of safer and friendlier manufacturing processes. Therefore, offshore AI can have quality issues relating to purity. We are encouraged that state and federal regulators welcome bringing agrichemical production back to the U.S. shores where there can be more stringent monitoring.
2. GFA is currently working with ag commodity research groups to quantify the purity level issues of agrichemicals in the current market. GFA leadership has personally seen enough evidence in advance of a study to be highly suspicious of why various lot numbers of offshore manufactured generic chemicals all perform with differing levels of efficacy.
3. This article is beneficial in understanding purity issues. https://www.lawnandlandscape.com/article/special-section--pesticides--clarifying-common-misconceptions/
4. This is a transcript of an interview with Katherine Eban, who released in 2019 her book, "Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of The Generic Drug Boom." It outlines the problems in the generic drug supply, especially for Indian producers. If this is a pharmaceutical problem, you can bet the farm that it is in generic agrichemicals from offshore. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/723545864
5. GFA is planning to onshore (Made in the U.S.A.) production of agrichemicals active ingredients (AI) and reestablish agrichemical production and packaging at a U.S. facility. We plan to source all raw materials from the USA eventually. This will give farmers more evidence for major food and clothing companies that our mission as farmers is to grow our commodities responsibly. 
6. Chemical factories in countries with a history of polluting the environment are making our agrichemicals, and it is a shame that we are not doing this in the U.S. We currently do not have a choice, but that is about to change for farmers in the high plains of Texas. Soon, farmers who join GFA can tell food and clothing companies that U.S.-produced agrichemicals are safer for the environment and are part of our efforts to prove sustainability. These agrichemicals are safer for the environment due to higher standards for and strict quality control of contamination from PFAS, toxic chemicals, and heavy metals.
7. Also, onshoring will bring a massive logistical change that will affect emissions. We will no longer be shipping AI from places such as China, and then formulating and packaging it to an agrichemical that still must be distributed all over the U.S. GFA plans to create an agrichemical manufacturing facility within 250 miles of the farms GFA serves from the manufacturing site. Chinese manufacturing is estimated to be 7,500 miles from Lubbock, and India is 8,700 miles from Lubbock. What a tremendous change we can make by working together.

1. The Vulpes Corp Production Schedule is affected by the EPA approval of its registrations. These registrations can take 18-24 months, and these are our best estimates.
2. Email us for a current production timeline.