The last time U.S. farmers faced a surge in fertilizer prices, the Department of Agriculture pledged nearly a billion dollars to help break the nation’s dependence on imports.
It didn’t make much of a dent.
Iran’s closure of a major fertilizer shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, is illustrating again how closely the fortunes of American farmers are tied to supply chains thousands of miles away.
Advertisement
Efforts like the Biden administration’s fertilizer production expansion program — meant in part to encourage more environmentally friendly alternatives to the common chemicals — barely scratch the surface of the country’s needs, according to industry groups.
