Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said a large swath of the country’s farmers will be unaffected this planting season, despite the rising fertilizer costs stemming from the Iran war.
“The good news is that about 80% of our farmers, actually, last fall locked in their fertilizer,” Rollins said to reporters outside the White House on Monday. “So as we’re moving into planting season, it’s only about 20% to 25% of our farmers that didn’t lock that in. We are working directly to ensure that we can get them what they need and it won’t bankrupt them.”
As the war moves into its second month, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has led not only to higher oil prices but also higher fertilizer prices, as Persian Gulf-based companies face difficulty exporting their supplies through the closed-off strait.
WORLD FACES SEVERE FOOD SUPPLY CRISIS IF STRAIT OF HORMUZ BLOCKADE CONTINUES
Rollins said the war “has elevated the issue of fertilizer and how important it is for American farmers and, frankly, for our food supply.” She tied food supply and security to national security and spoke about efforts the administration is taking to provide relief.
“The president waived the Jones Act,” Rollins said, referring to the law that required all goods transported between U.S. ports to be built, owned, and crewed by the United States. “We opened up a line, I believe, from Venezuela. We have more announcements coming soon. The short term is really important, that [for] 20% of farmers, that we’re keeping the fertilizer prices in the realm of the possible for them, especially in a tough farm economy.”
The cost of all eight major fertilizers has risen in the month since the Iran war began, with four seeing a double-digit increase from February to the end of March, according to DTN. The agriculture data company reported that Urea, the most commonly used nitrogen fertilizer, saw the highest increase, with a 35% spike.
Three of the top 10 global urea suppliers are headquartered in the Persian Gulf.
Rollins told reporters that the strain on global fertilizer supply underscores the need for onshoring, a policy priority of the Trump administration, reflected in President Donald Trump’s use of tariffs. She said domestic liquefied natural gas is important for the production of nitrogen-based fertilizers.
“America is doing better than almost every other country on fertilizer because of our energy independence agenda. We have a big LNG here. LNG costs actually have come down since the beginning of the conflict, but we’ve got to build the infrastructure in this country, more infrastructure,” Rollins said.
“We can take that LNG, turn it into the nitrogen that the farmers need for the long-term sustainability and the protection of our own country, where we can feed ourselves and not rely on other countries,” Rollins continued.
TRUMP CULTIVATES FARMER LOYALTY AMID FUEL AND FERTILIZER PRICE STRAIN FROM IRAN WAR
Trump has given the Iranian regime a deadline of Tuesday at 8 p.m. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or strike a deal before the U.S. resumes strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure.
During a Monday press conference, Trump said the reopening of the strait is “a very big priority” in terms of the U.S.’s negotiations with Iran.
