The Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation into the fertilizer industry’s market concentration and pricing practices in the U.S., FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson announced Thursday.
The probe arrives as Trump administration officials face pressure to address soaring fertilizer and fuel prices prompted by the Iran war that are landing during farmers’ planting season — and increasing anxiety about economic conditions in farm country next year.
“USDA [data] has shown the single largest increase in input costs for farmers across the United States since 2020 has come from fertilizer,” Ferguson said to commodity group representatives from 18 states during an event held by the Texas Corn Producers in McKinney, Texas.
“These continued price increases are not something our nation, much less our farmers, can continue to ignore,” Ferguson said.
