Fertilizer Erodes Farm Aid    10/27 17:01

   Rising Fertilizer Costs Undercut Farm Aid, Corn Growers Tell Trump

   The presidents for three state corn groups wrote President Donald Trump on 
Tuesday, calling for his administration to take more direct enforcement actions 
against the fertilizer industry. The farmers said higher fertilizer prices are 
eroding any gains farmers might receive from aid for high diesel costs.

Chris Clayton
Farm Business Editor

   OMAHA (DTN) -- Leaders of three state corn grower organizations are pressing 
President Donald Trump to take antitrust action against the fertilizer 
industry, arguing that rising fertilizer prices are undermining billions of 
dollars in federal assistance intended to help struggling farmers.

   The presidents of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, the Ohio Corn & Wheat 
Growers Association and the Texas Corn Producers Association thanked Trump in 
their letter for the recent announcement of $8 billion in aid to help farmers 
pay for higher diesel costs during harvest. At the same time, the farmers 
warned that, "fertilizer prices and the lack of meaningful competition remain 
urgent concerns."

   In their letter to Trump, farmer leaders argued that rising fertilizer 
prices are eroding the value of any ad hoc aid. 

   "At nearly every turn, the benefit of your efforts to help farmers has been 
lost to higher fertilizer costs." 

   The farm groups suggested the administration's aid announcements are 
followed by fertilizer price increases. The letter stated Iowa farmers have 
been quoted anhydrous ammonia prices that are $150 per ton higher than they 
were in mid-September. 

   DTN's weekly Retail Fertilizer Trends column reports that anhydrous ammonia 
prices last week on average were $149 higher than a year ago. From 
mid-September through mid-October, anhydrous prices rose an average of $42 a 
ton as well. 

   "Farmers are facing fertilizer costs that simply do not reflect a 
competitive marketplace," said Steve Kuiper, president of the Iowa Corn Growers 
Association. "When farmer relief programs are announced and fertilizer prices 
continue to climb, it raises serious questions about whether farmers are 
benefiting from a fair and functioning market. Corn farmers work hard to manage 
risk and control costs, but they need a transparent, competitive fertilizer 
market to stand a chance of being profitable. That's why we're urging the 
Administration to move forward with its investigation and ensure farmers have 
confidence that anticompetitive practices will be thoroughly examined." 

   The Trump administration also paused duties on phosphate imports, but the 
corn growers' letter to Trump said Ohio farmers have reported phosphate prices 
are only about $5 a ton lower than a year ago. 

   DTN's fertilizer price tracking, however, shows both diammonium phosphate 
(DAP) and monoammonium phosphate (MAP) prices remain higher than they were a 
year ago. At $937 a ton, DAP is about $15 a ton higher than a year ago. MAP is 
priced at $981 a ton, up about $49 a ton on average from a year ago. 

   "When fertilizer prices rise after relief is announced and barely move after 
duties are suspended, it points to market power that relief and duty 
suspensions alone cannot fix," the letter to Trump stated. 

   The letter also criticized the country's largest phosphate producer, Mosaic 
Co., for curtailing domestic production. Still, phosphate production globally 
has been disrupted by the high costs of sulfur, which started in March after 
the war with Iran began.

   The corn growers cited Trump's executive order last December targeting price 
fixing and anticompetitive behavior in the food supply chain. The order 
directed the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to investigate 
potential violations of antitrust laws. 

   "Farmers are now looking for that work to produce results," the three 
corn-grower leaders wrote. 

   The FTC announced in May that the agency is investigating potential 
anticompetitive behavior in the fertilizer industry. FTC Chairman Andrew 
Ferguson told farmers at an event in Texas that he would need farmers' help if 
his agency were to bring a case against the industry. 

   The farmers called on the administration to support the FTC's case to bring 
an enforcement action against the fertilizer industry. 

   "We are not asking the FTC to resolve every problem at once or to rush into 
a resolution that leaves the underlying market power untouched," the letter 
stated. "We respect due process, and a public adjudication of the facts is how 
that process works. It needs to begin."   

   Also see "At Texas Gathering, FTC Announces Fertilizer Antitrust 
Investigation Amid Farmer Complaints" here: 
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/crops/article/2026/05/28/texas-gatherin
g-ftc-announces-amid.

   Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

   Follow him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN




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