The Department of Agriculture will revive and expand a Biden administration program to boost U.S. fertilizer production, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Tuesday.
At a news conference with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Rollins said the USDA will shift the fertilizer program away from the prior administration’s focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“Those projects that were stalled because of climate requirements are now coming back online,” Rollins said. “Of course, it focused on climate instead of fertilizer impact.”
The Biden administration designed the program to address price shocks from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as to encourage production of fertilizer with lower carbon emissions. The Agriculture Department at the time identified more than 100 projects and pledged $900 million to the effort, but Rollins said few projects even had finalized agreements with the USDA.
