Washington, DC — Senators from Iowa and Wisconsin recently reintroduced a bill that would require the USDA to study competition in the fertilizer market and its impact on prices paid by farmers.
Three companies dominate fertilizer production in North America, according to Farm Action. Noah Coppess farms and runs an agri-business in eastern Iowa. and told Senators during a Judiciary Committee hearing that farmers right now are price takers, not price makers – especially when consolidation limits their options.
Coppess says they have to pay up front.
The CEO of the Fertilizer Institute said during the hearing that geopolitics and demand from US corn growers have contributed to higher fertilizer prices. He said streamlining environmental permitting for mines and production plants would help the sector boost the domestic supply. The US imports the vast majority of the potash used in fertilizer, with most of it coming from Canada. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is a co-sponsor of the Fertilizer Research Act, which would require the USDA to conduct a study on competition in the fertilizer market and its impact on price.
KIWA Staff Photo
