All posts tagged: Fertilizer

The rising cost of fertilizer and fuel prices is pushing some farmers to the brink : NPR

The rising cost of fertilizer and fuel prices is pushing some farmers to the brink : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Sledge Taylor, 73, walks his corn fields just outside Como, Miss. on Friday, April 17, 2026. The corn stalks are currently between vegetative stages known as V3 and V5, normally when Taylor would be applying nitrogen fertilizer. But he said he may not do it this year because of the cost of fertilizer. Jay Marcano for NPR hide caption toggle caption Jay Marcano for NPR COMO, Miss. – On a bright, dry Friday morning in Panola County in the Mississippi Delta, Sledge Taylor did the same thing he’s done every morning for the last 53 years — the same thing his father did every morning, and his father before him. He walked his fields. The little green stalks of corn he grows on about 4,000 acres are between vegetative stages known as V3 and V5, tallied by the number of visible leaf collars on the stems. It’s a critical stage for determining future yields, when the plant’s roots claw deeper into the dark alluvial soil. The Mississippi River built the Delta over thousands of years, …

U.S. farmers worry about fertilizer supply due to war with Iran : NPR

U.S. farmers worry about fertilizer supply due to war with Iran : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Matt Ubel, standing on his farm near Wheaton, Kansas, motions to the fertilizer spreader he’ll use to spread urea fertilizer this spring. Frank Morris hide caption toggle caption Frank Morris Spring planting season is starting across the northern hemisphere. But before seeds go into the ground, nutrients go into the soil. Typically nitrogen fertilizer. “Right now, we’re kind of … we’ll be in the thick of it,” farmer Matt Ubel said from the cab of his huge green fertilizer spreader near Wheaton, Kansas. “Lot of nitrogen gets put on in the spring.” The high cost of fertilizer and other farming necessities pushed many row crop farmers into the red last year. Ubel says some were holding out for lower prices this spring, only to see the price of the most common nitrogen fertilizer, urea, spike close to 30% when Iran shut down shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, halting close to half the world’s fertilizer trade. “This probably threw some guys for a loop,” said Ubel. The Persian Gulf, nitrogen fertilizer hub of the world …

Bottling the World Economy | Adam Hanieh

Bottling the World Economy | Adam Hanieh

Published by Jenni Sidey

Amid the destruction of the US–Israeli war against Iran, much of the world’s attention has fixed on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes. In normal times ships traversing the Strait—which runs between Oman and the United Arab Emirates on one bank and Iran on the other—follow a pair of two-mile-wide lanes for inbound and outbound traffic, separated by a two-mile buffer. Shortly after the onset of the war Iran began attacking commercial vessels and laying mines in the waterway, effectively shutting it to most marine traffic. As of March 18 around 3,200 ships were stranded in the Gulf, with only a handful of tankers permitted to pass each day. The disruption of this vital artery has sent markets into convulsions, with the international price benchmark for Brent crude oil briefly surging to nearly $120 a barrel on March 9, its highest level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked panic. Donald Trump has urged Western allies to help escort tankers through …

Iran-induced fertilizer shortage threatens Republicans in farm states

Iran-induced fertilizer shortage threatens Republicans in farm states

Published by Sam Flores

Garrett Mauch spreads manure as fertilizer on fields at his family’s farm in Lamar, Colorado, on January 21, 2026. RJ Sangosti | The Denver Post Via Getty Images | Denver Post | Getty Images The Strait of Hormuz shutdown caused by the war in Iran is jacking up fertilizer prices, hitting farmers in their pocketbooks and threatening to raise food prices. Now, Democrats trying to win the U.S. midterm elections in November see another new opportunity to pound the affordability crisis and turn the tide after years of losses in the states that produce crops and livestock. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical channel for fertilizer, including about 50 percent of global nitrogen-rich urea fertilizers, according to the Fertilizer Institute, the industry’s trade association. The Strait has been effectively impassable since President Donald Trump launched the assault, which is now dragging into its third week with no end in sight. The closure has spiked fertilizer prices just before planting season, potentially scrambling decision-making for farmers across the U.S. And it comes on top of …

Trump Warns Of ‘Severe’ Tariffs On Canadian Fertilizer If Needed

Trump Warns Of ‘Severe’ Tariffs On Canadian Fertilizer If Needed

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Jennifer Cowan via The Epoch Times, U.S. President Donald Trump says he is considering “very severe” tariffs on fertilizer imports from Canada as the United States readies a $12 billion aid package for farmers grappling with the repercussions of the ongoing trade war. Trump mentioned the increased levy on Canada while responding to reporters’ questions at a Dec. 8 White House roundtable where he announced the tariff relief fund for U.S. farmers, who have been paying more for agricultural products like seed and fertilizer due to Trump’s global trade policies. “A lot of it does come in from Canada,” Trump said, referring to fertilizer. “And so we’ll end up putting very severe tariffs on that, if we have to, because that’s the way you want to bolster here.” Trump said high import prices on Canadian fertilizer would encourage the United States to produce its own. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said her team is developing a strategy to bring fertilizer production back to the United States, while also instructing fertilizer manufacturers and other …