Soaring fertilizer prices continue to plague farmers as Ag leaders, and lawmakers struggle for answers and solutions. And with those fertilizer prices more than doubling and some ingredients rising as much as 300 percent, farm leaders like American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duval want relief.
“I mean, there are so many things that affect that, even the discussion around carbon and things that people are going to have to do to get us carbon-neutral could affect fuel and could affect fertilizer prices. And that’s a big, big piece of our expense line.”
Iowa senator Chuck Grassley is asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate possible anti-competitive practices and market manipulation.
“When one company in Florida has 80 percent of the market, on just one of the three ingredients that go into growing corn, I think it’s legitimate to raise these questions about, is the competitive marketplace working.”
Grassley didn’t name the Florida firm, but a recent Grassley press release identified two fertilizer firms—Mosaic, headquartered in Tampa and CF Industries in Deerfield, Illinois.
The Senator admits an antitrust probe could take time and says until then, tariff relief on imported fertilizer products would help.
The fertilizer industry argues the perfect storm of supply chain problems is to blame for high prices.
(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters)