Caught Off Guard: Fertilizer Costs Soar Due to War, Doubling Pressure on US Farmers

Charlotte, April 13 (CNA) On North Carolina farmer Andy Corriher's farm, corn and soybean planting preparations are in full swing, but due to the Middle East war, fertilizer costs have soared, and orders placed weeks ago have yet to arrive. According to Agence France-Presse, 47-year-old Corriher is one of many American farmers facing the double blow of rising fertilizer and diesel prices. This follows joint US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, after which Tehran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for transporting such goods. Corriher told AFP: 'This time of year is the most intensive fertilization season across the US, and we've been hit at the worst possible time, forced to buy fertilizer when prices are skyrocketing and supplies are disrupted.' The news service Investigate Midwest noted that rising costs are hitting President Donald Trump's core constituency; in the 2024 election, Trump won 78% of the votes in agriculture-dependent counties. Trump blamed 'fertilizer monopolies price gouging' on April 11, vowing: 'American farmers, we've got your back!' But spring planting has already begun, and Corriher is busy loading bags of dry fertilizer onto his tractor for transport to the fields. Corriher said: 'I ordered several batches of liquid nitrogen fertilizer weeks ago, but the supplier still isn't sure when it will arrive.' He estimates the price of nitrogen fertilizer he uses has increased by at least 40% since the war began. At the Port of New Orleans, the price of common nitrogen fertilizer, urea, has jumped by about 50%. Corriher has been forced to cut his fertilizer use by a third, but he worries this decision will affect crop yields. Russell Hedrick, who farms 1,000 acres of corn and soybeans near Hickory, North Carolina, said about 75% of his fertilizer was purchased after prices soared. The 40-year-old farmer told AFP after mixing fertilizer ready for spraying in the fields that, like many American farmers, he lacks storage space to stock up in advance. He has reduced fertilizer use to the 'bare minimum,' planning to add more later if conditions allow. He said that even before the war, rising costs had already made 'farmers, when it comes to fertilizer use, become like chemists in 'Breaking Bad,' meticulously calculating to squeeze out maximum efficiency.' Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stated that 80% of American farmers had purchased their spring planting fertilizer before the conflict, but this sounds ironic to farmers who lack the funds or storage capacity to buy in advance. Derrick Austin, a 55-year-old farmer in Marshville, described this as a 'gut punch.' He immediately called his supplier upon learning of the strait blockade, knowing prices would surely skyrocket. He said: 'Thank goodness, he let me buy three batches of nitrogen fertilizer at the original price, at least enough to fertilize my wheat. It's really tough.' Hedrick mentioned that fertilizer supplies have decreased before, such as in 2021 when China restricted phosphate exports to prioritize domestic demand. Farmers can usually foresee such risks, 'but this year, we were simply caught off guard.'