War in Middle East causes further stress on U.S. farmers

By Cami Koons
Iowa Capital Dispatch

Fertilizer prices rise alongside fuel prices from the conflict

Corn farmers in the U.S. are bracing for even higher fertilizer prices as conflict in the Middle East impacts the globally traded commodity, according to leaders with the National Corn Growers Association. 

Corn farmers are approaching a fourth year of negative yields, due to low corn prices and high input costs, including fertilizers. The growers association renewed its call on Congress to legalize year-round, nationwide E-15, a higher blend of ethanol fuel, and for the removal of duties on fertilizers from Morocco. 

Lesly McNitt, vice president of public policy for National Corn Growers Association, said there is not enough domestically produced fertilizer to meet demand, which means imported fertilizer is vital to farmers. 

McNitt, speaking during a press conference Wednesday, said duties on phosphate from Morocco and Russia that were put in place in 2020, have “kept phosphate prices high” and caused “availability issues and lack of competitive options for farmers.” 

A study from the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University found that the countervailing duties increased the cost of phosphorus by about $6.9 billion for the 2021 to 2025 growing seasons. 

“Now the conflict in the Middle East has further complicated access to critical fertilizers,” McNitt said, noting the U.S. typically imports about 40% of phosphate products from Saudi Arabia. 

“When these fertilizers can’t be transported through the Strait of Hormuz, there are real implications for availability and price, and there is a global market impact,” McNitt said. 

Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, an approximately 30-mile-wide channel that connects major Middle Eastern oil, natural gas and fertilizer producers to the Arabian Sea, in response to joint attacks on the country from the U.S. and Israel. 

The Fertilizer Institute said in a news release that closure of the strait could impact ammonia, urea, sulfur, phosphates and natural gas markets. 

“Supply disruptions in one part of the world can ripple across the trade routes and affect availability and price in other regions,” The Fertilizer Institute said. “While the United States is both a fertilizer producer and importer, those same global supply dynamics play a role in determining input costs for American farmers.” 

McNitt said the duties imposed on countries like Morocco further restrict farmers’ abilities to search for other options. National Corn Growers Association sent a letter, along with other national and state farm groups, including Iowa Corn Growers Association and Iowa Soybean Association, to domestic fertilizer producers Mosaic and J.R. Simplot, urging them to withdraw their support of countervailing duties on phosphate fertilizers from Morocco. 

The duties were imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce following a petition from Mosaic.

Other fertilizers like nitrogen — which corn farmers on the call said is the fertilizer that is most difficult to go without — have greater domestic production, but are still part of the global fertilizer market. McNitt said the nature of the market means that “a shock anywhere, impacts prices everywhere.” 

Matt Frostic, first vice president with NCGA and a Michigan farmer, said the cost of nitrogen fertilizer coming into U.S. ports currently would raise his production cost by about $90 per acre. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated 2025 corn production had crop production costs at around $890 per acre, and the department projects the average cost of production for corn farmers in 2026 will be $917 per acre. 

Frostic said that while farmers have the option to lock in fertilizer rates earlier in the season and prepay for some of those inputs, those decisions are often difficult to make, especially coming off several hard years. 

“Many farmers didn’t necessarily lock in some of those prices, or they didn’t have the finances to do so,” Frostic said. “… There will tend to be a lot of producers out there that have not locked in that price, so we’re going to be a victim to the high cost of fertilizer.” 

Blocked passage in the Strait of Hormuz is also responsible for the global jump in fuel prices. 

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we had year round, nationwide, E-15 right now?” McNitt said during the call with reporters.

According to the association, the higher blend of ethanol fuel saves consumers between 10 cents and 30 cents per gallon at the pump. 

National and state agricultural organizations have urged Congress to allow for the year-round sale of the fuel across the nation, but the measure has not been passed, despite bipartisan support and calls for the legislation from President Donald Trump. 

McNitt said that while the association hopes that a “permanent fix” is coming from Congress, the association is also calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue summertime E-15 waivers that allow the fuel to be sold throughout the summer in states that have not enacted their own year-round sales laws. Iowa and California have year-round E-15 laws.

Mark Mueller, the president of Iowa Corn Growers Association, said the state association will continue to be “extremely outspoken” about the need for the passage of year-round E-15 and legislation that looks at consolidation in the fertilizer industry. 

“We have come close to achieving wins on both issues, but we call on Congress for action to officially get them across the finish line,” Mueller said in a news release. “Iowa corn farmers need and deserve the stability that comes with these wins—we cannot afford to slip back into the 1980s.”

This story was originally published March 18 on the Iowa Capital Dispatch website. Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.