Iran War Has U.S. Farmers Worried About the Cost and Availability of Fertilizer BISMARCK, N.D. — Tennessee farmer Todd Littleton expects to pay $100,000 more for fertilizer this season, a 40% increase from last year’s bill, due to the war in Iran. The surge in costs has left him scrambling to cover the extra expense, especially after years of financial strain from record losses. “We’re so strained financially coming into this issue,” Littleton said. “Everyone’s kind of grabbing at straws anyway, and then to have input prices increase yet again—it just couldn’t happen at a worse time.” Littleton, who grows corn, soybeans, and wheat, is among thousands of U.S. farmers facing higher fertilizer costs this spring. Nitrogen-based fertilizer, critical for corn production—which is the nation’s largest crop and a key component of livestock feed and fuel—is now more expensive than expected. The war between the U.S. and Israel, which began on Feb. 28, has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for 20% of global oil and natural gas. This slowdown has raised fuel prices, a key input for fertilizer production, and halted the export of nitrogen fertilizers from the Persian Gulf. About 15% of U.S. fertilizer imports come from the Middle East, and the region supplies roughly half the world’s urea and 30% of ammonia, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. “When the ports started raising nitrogen prices due to the conflict and shipping concerns, that directly affects me here on the farm,” Littleton said. Some farmers may not find fertilizer at all, warned Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.#iran_war #strait_of_hormuz #todd_littonton #american_farm_bureau_federation #zippy_duvall
