Weed Science Society of America

What Weed Science Society of America does

The Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) is a non-profit professional society founded in 1956 that serves approximately 2,000 members worldwide, including academic and governmental research scientists, students and educators, extension educators, and federal, state, county, and private land managers engaged in weed science. The society's core mission is to encourage and promote the development of knowledge concerning weeds and their impact on the environment, addressing documented crop yield losses ranging from 19.5% (spring wheat) to 72.2% (sugar beet) across major North American crops.

WSSA's core product portfolio centers on three peer-reviewed journals — Weed Science, Weed Technology, and Invasive Plant Science and Management — published through a partnership with Cambridge University Press and distributed globally. Supporting products include the Composite List of Weeds (a database of 3,759 plants), the Herbicide Handbook (10th Edition), a bookstore of reference manuals and educational materials (e.g., Anderson's Guide, Aquatic and Riparian Weeds of the West, Weed Bingo), the WSSA Fact Sheets series, the Common and Troublesome Weeds Survey, and the recently launched Check My Herbicide Plan digital tool (May 2026) hosted on the GROW website. The society operates five regional affiliate networks (CWSS, NEWSS, NCWSS, SWSS, WSWS), maintains a Director of Science Policy, an EPA Liaison, and a USDA-NIFA Fellow for federal regulatory engagement, and runs an Innovative Grants Program launched in 2022.

Revenue is generated primarily through annual membership dues ($175 for regular members, $50 for students), publication and bookstore sales, conference registrations, sustaining-member contributions from major agrochemical firms (BASF and Bayer CropScience at Presidential level; Corteva, Syngenta, and WinField United at Leader level), and co-hosted educational programming (e.g., a 10-webinar series with USDA-ARS). Distribution occurs via the WSSA member portal, the WSSA online bookstore, Cambridge University Press for institutional journal access, and annual in-person meetings held at rotating U.S. and Canadian locations.

Name

Weed Science Society of America

Legal name

Weed Science Society of America

Website

https://wssa.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1956

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

WSSA is a non-profit professional society founded in 1956 serving approximately 2,000 researchers, educators, and land managers with peer-reviewed weed science journals, publications, annual meetings, and federal regulatory liaison functions across North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Scientific Society

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Organic & Biological Input Retail (Biostimulants, Biopesticides, OMRI) (AFABAJAK)

Keywords

• Weed science research
• Professional society membership
• Peer-reviewed journals
• Herbicide management
• Invasive plant science

Headquarters

HQ city

Lawrence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: WSSA generates revenue primarily through membership dues. Regular members worldwide online pay $175.00 annually, while student members pay $50.00. Membership benefits include full access to all three peer-reviewed journals, reduced meeting registration rates, and voting privileges for Society officers.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

WSSA operates as a non-profit professional society that advances weed science through peer-reviewed journal publications (Weed Science, Weed Technology, and Invasive Plant Science and Management), an annual conference, an Herbicide Handbook, and member education. It serves approximately 2,000 academic, governmental, and industry weed scientists, students, extension educators, and land managers across the U.S. and Canada.

Product overview

The Weed Science Society of America operates as a professional society offering a portfolio of peer-reviewed journals and educational publications. The core publishing portfolio includes three journals: Weed Science (fundamental research), Weed Technology (weed management), and Invasive Plant Science and Management (invasive plant ecology and management). Supporting products include the Herbicide Handbook 10th Edition, Anderson's Guide, the Composite List of Weeds database (3,759 plants), Common and Troublesome Weeds Survey results, WSSA Fact Sheets series, and educational resources like Weed Bingo. The society also provides the Check My Herbicide Plan digital tool on the GROW website for herbicide efficacy assessment. Membership includes full access to all three journals along with reduced meeting registration rates and voting privileges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WSSA Membership Annual professional society membership for academic, government, industry, student, and extension weed science professionals.
• Weed Science Journal Peer-reviewed journal publishing fundamental research focused on all aspects of weed science in agricultural systems.
• Weed Technology Journal Peer-reviewed journal publishing original research focused on weed management techniques and applications.
• Invasive Plant Science and Management Journal Peer-reviewed journal focusing on fundamental and applied research on invasive plant biology, ecology, management, and restoration of invaded non-crop areas.
• Check My Herbicide Plan Digital tool that helps farmers assess herbicide tank-mix efficacy for burndown, preemergence, and postemergence applications in corn, cotton, and soybeans.
• Herbicide Handbook (10th Edition eBook) Comprehensive digital reference providing information on herbicide mode of action and chemical structures for weed science researchers, agronomists, and students.
• Composite List of Weeds Database Downloadable database of 3,759 plants (2,847 unique species and 912 synonymic names) maintained by the WSSA Standardized Plant Names subcommittee.
• Common and Troublesome Weeds Survey Survey documenting the most common and troublesome weeds in the U.S. and Canada across crop and non-crop areas, including baseline and annual updates.
• WSSA Annual Meeting Annual scientific conference providing research presentations, symposia, networking, and society business for academic, government, industry, and student weed science professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Three peer-reviewed journals provide research publication venue for weed science advancements
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 April 2026WSSA and CAST are partnering to address fire-adaptive invasive plants that pose imminent threats to the U.S. biosphere. A forthcoming CAST research paper and webinar are scheduled for May 6, 2026. The paper highlights case studies from California, Great Plains, and Southeastern U.S., citing $150 billion in capital losses from 2018 California wildfires and $3 billion annual federal firefighting costs.
• Quacito LLCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerQuacito LLC conducted initial development of the Check My Herbicide Plan digital tool, co-developed by WSSA member scientists from Virginia Tech and Texas A&M University. The tool helps farmers assess herbicide tank-mix efficacy.
• HRAC (Herbicide Resistance Action Committee)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWSSA partners with HRAC and Penton Media to provide CEU credits for an herbicide resistance best practices course. HRAC also classifies herbicide modes of action and WSSA maintains the WSSA Herbicide Site of Action Classification List.
• USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSDA-ARS and WSSA co-hosted a 10-webinar series on weed science and research. Beginning April 5 and ending June 7, presentations were given by ARS weed science research experts covering Tactics, Mechanisms, and Impacts themes.
• Cambridge University PresscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWSSA journals (Weed Science, Weed Technology, Invasive Plant Science and Management) are published through Cambridge University Press. Read and Publish agreements allow authors at participating institutions to publish open access without page charges.
• National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants (NAICC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWSSA collaborated with NAICC to provide an overview of Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) issues for key federal agency representatives during an on-farm learning tour.
• Regional Weed Science SocietiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWSSA maintains partnerships with five regional affiliates: Canadian Weed Science Society (CWSS), North Eastern Weed Science Society (NEWSS), North Central Weed Science Society (NCWSS), South Weed Science Society (SWSS), and Western Society of Weed Science (WSWS). These organizations collaborate on advocacy, research, and annual meetings.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Crop Science Society of America (CSSA): CSSA is a sister professional society under the agronomy umbrella that publishes peer-reviewed crop science research and shares many institutional touchpoints with WSSA, including the Annual Meetings and joint advocacy on agricultural science policy.
• American Society of Agronomy (ASA): ASA is the parent society of CSSA and SSSA, focused on agronomic research and education. WSSA partners with ASA on co-located meetings and shared advocacy, making it the closest structural peer in mission and membership model.
• Soil Science Society of America (SSSA): SSSA is a peer scientific society publishing soil science research and operating the same membership, journal, and conference model as WSSA. It frequently co-hosts meetings and shares the agronomy/science-policy community.
• Entomological Society of America (ESA): ESA is a peer scientific society focused on insect science and integrated pest management, a discipline adjacent to weed science. It operates a similar journal and annual-meeting model and is a natural partner for IPM and pesticide-resistance policy.
• American Phytopathological Society (APS): APS is a peer scientific society focused on plant disease, sharing the same publisher-and-meeting model as WSSA and overlapping closely on plant protection research, herbicide-crop injury, and regulatory policy.
• Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST): CAST is a partner organization of WSSA focused on assembling and communicating science-based agricultural policy. WSSA and CAST co-published work on fire-adaptive invasive plants, making CAST a peer in science-policy advocacy.

Regional players

• Canadian Weed Science Society (CWSS): CWSS is the Canadian counterpart regional affiliate of WSSA, focused on weed science in Canadian cropping systems. It shares membership, meetings, and advocacy themes with WSSA but is regionally scoped to Canada.
• North Central Weed Science Society (NCWSS): NCWSS is a regional affiliate of WSSA covering the U.S. North Central region, sharing members and joint meeting programming. It is a structurally identical peer organization at smaller regional scale.

Broad incumbents

• CropLife America: CropLife America is the broad trade association for the crop protection and plant science industry in the U.S. It overlaps with WSSA's sustaining-member constituency and pesticide-policy advocacy, but represents the industry rather than the scientific society.
• International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences (IAPPS): IAPPS is the global umbrella for plant protection science societies, providing a broader international counterpart to WSSA's North American focus and convening the International Plant Protection Congress.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WorldOfWeeds
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC1YyIQpP9wZ7WzRNB37NAoQ/playlists
• Facebookfacebook.com/wssaweedsnow
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/about

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Weed Science Society of America