EPA Registers Valent's Rapidicil Herbicide for Regenerative Farming

Valent U.S.A. has secured US Environmental Protection Agency registration for Rapidicil, a new herbicide active ingredient developed by its parent company, Sumitomo Chemical. The San Ramon-based company said the approval clears the way to bring the product to US growers, with the first two formulations, Empera and Empera Viragess, available for use in late 2026. Valent is positioning the ingredient as central to a pipeline of products planned for major markets over the next three years.

Chemically, Rapidicil, known technically as epyrifenacil, belongs to a class of compounds called protoporphyrinogen oxidase inhibitors and is used to control a wide range of broadleaf weeds and grasses. Valent describes it as fast-acting when applied before planting ahead of crops including corn and soybeans, and says extensive field research supports its effectiveness in preplant applications.

 

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The company frames the product's sustainability case around its role in regenerative agriculture rather than any direct environmental attribute of the chemical itself. According to Valent, Rapidicil enables fast and effective termination of cover crops, which can extend the window growers keep cover in the ground and support better soil health. Cover cropping is a recognised practice for building soil carbon, and the company links the product to that benefit.

Valent also points to the ingredient's fit with no-till and reduced-tillage systems, where it provides preplant weed control without the need to turn the soil. The company says these practices can reduce carbon dioxide emissions compared with conventional tillage, though it does not quantify the effect. Reducing tillage is widely associated with lower fuel use and less disturbance of soil carbon stores, which underpins the regenerative framing.

Matt Plitt, president and chief executive of Valent U.S.A., said the registration would give growers a powerful solution against a wide range of weeds, and that the company was focused on applicator stewardship training and grower programmes to support the product's successful use ahead of launch later this year.