Rising costs and razor thin margins have been felt across the board by agricultural producers for years, but farmers are now asking for transparency about a federal investigation into possible price fixing in the fertilizer industry.
The Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association is working with 13 other corn-producing states, pressing U.S. Department of Justice and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins for answers in the new federal probe.
“There is an issue here, and we're not after handouts, we're not after buying things at a discount, we are not after any of that stuff," said President of the Ohio Corn and Wheat Association Eric Tipton. "All we want is a competitive playing field.”
Representatives from Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky and beyond joined Ohio's effort for answers, sending a letter to the DOJ and USDA.
It asked for public confirmation that fertilizer markets are within the scope of the food supply chain security task force, inclusion and representation as stakeholders in the investigation and the release of findings from congressional briefings to ag stakeholders.
“If there is any anti-competitive conduct by the fertilizer industry, they think it's important that that be made public," said Gerry Puckett, director of communications and industry engagement at the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association.
“They've described that the levels of concentration domestically in a number of countries is really unacceptable."
An unsustainable market, made worse by Iran war
Rising costs have been an ongoing issue for farmers since the pandemic with popular fertilizers rising by 4% in cost per ton.
Puckett said that corn production costs are also projected to climb an additional 4% in 2026, putting more pressure on farmers.
“We’re starting to get into the territory where it costs more for us to put the crop in the ground than what that crop is worth at the market," Tipton said. "So it's really, really hard to keep a family farm, it's really hard to keep an operation. It's hard to keep a business going when you're operating on net zero or net negative profit levels for the last four years.”
Tipton said the war in Iran has only seemed to exacerbate these issues with price increases from delays at the port of Hormuz.
“Now we've really got our head on the swivel, the war in Iran fired up and then all of a sudden we see this massive spike in fertilizer prices," he said. "So it's something that we've constantly been paying attention to.”
Federal officials have previously warned the public about extreme consolidation in the industry, with the USDA bringing attention to signs of collusion in fertilizer industry.
The department has also publicly called the market a duopoly. Puckett said that means two dominant entities control the market, leaving it vulnerable for price fixing.
“They've described that the levels of concentration domestically in a number of countries is really unacceptable," he said.
The road ahead
Tipton said multiple farmers have been operating in the negative for three to four years, seeking relief from a growing deficit in their business' profits.
“The farmers feel these price increases first, and then it trickles down to the consumer,” he said. “And that's why the consumer should be so concerned about what we're seeing out there.”
As they await answers from the DOJ and USDA, Tipton said he encourages farmers not to "take their foot off the gas" when it comes to talking to congress or their state reps.
"Some of things that we're saying in Washington, D.C,, are starting to get repeated back to us by the administration. So they hear us," he said. "We continue to tell our story, we continue to talk to the right people and we stay ahead of this thing as best we can. I mean that’s pretty much all you can do.”
