Moving beyond grower compliance: why Bt corn resistance management depends on system-level coordination

Insect resistance management (IRM) for Bt corn (Zea mays L.) has traditionally emphasized grower compliance with non-Bt refuge requirements. However, this framing overlooks the broader agricultural system that shapes refuge outcomes, including the US Environmental Protection Agency, seed companies, trait providers, seed dealers and agricultural retailers, and Cooperative Extension. As a result, refuge outcomes are often treated as individual behavioral failures rather than system-level design challenges. We argue that sustaining Bt susceptibility requires shifting from a grower-centric compliance model to a systems perspective in which refuge outcomes are co-produced by multiple actors. Within this sociological context, we then situate a recent US Environmental Protection Agency proposal requiring growers to purchase non-Bt corn seed with Bt corn seed as an example of how policy can reshape responsibility for refuge implementation. While this approach moves refuge planning earlier in the decision process, it does not fully address the economic, logistical, and institutional constraints that influence how refuge is ultimately implemented. We identify opportunities to improve IRM through coordinated system-level interventions, including integrating social science into policy design, improving transparency of non-Bt hybrid performance, aligning non-Bt seed offerings around a smaller set of hybrids with flexible management traits, and exploring system-level design options, such as track-and-trace mechanisms, to ensure that non-Bt seed is sold and distributed in appropriate quantities. Together, these approaches emphasize shared stewardship to sustain Bt susceptibility as a common-pool resource, rather than reliance on individual grower compliance.