By Andi Anderson
Farmers across Ohio and several other agricultural states are raising concerns about rising fertilizer prices and are seeking greater transparency from a federal investigation into the fertilizer industry.
With production costs increasing and profit margins shrinking, growers say understanding market conditions is essential for long term farm survival.
The Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association is working with growers from thirteen other corn producing states to request updates from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Their request focuses on a federal probe examining possible price fixing and market concentration within the fertilizer industry.
“There is an issue here, and we're not after handouts, we're not after buying things at a discount, we are not after any of that stuff," said President of the Ohio Corn and Wheat Association Eric Tipton. "All we want is a competitive playing field.”
Representatives from multiple states including Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Iowa, and Kentucky joined Ohio growers in sending a letter to federal agencies.
The letter asked for confirmation that fertilizer markets are included in ongoing food supply chain investigations, requested farmer representation, and called for public sharing of investigation findings.
“If there is any anti-competitive conduct by the fertilizer industry, they think it's important that that be made public," said Gerry Puckett, director of communications and industry engagement at the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association.
Rising fertilizer costs has been a long-standing challenge, increasing pressure on farm operations. Fertilizer prices have risen since the pandemic, and production costs are expected to continue increasing.
“We’re starting to get into the territory where it costs more for us to put the crop in the ground than what that crop is worth at the market," Tipton said. "So it's really, really hard to keep a family farm, it's really hard to keep an operation. It's hard to keep a business going when you're operating on net zero or net negative profit levels for the last four years.”
Tipton also pointed to recent global conflicts contributing to price increases.
“Now we've really got our head on the swivel, the war in Iran fired up and then all of a sudden we see this massive spike in fertilizer prices," he said. "So it's something that we've constantly been paying attention to.”
Federal agencies have previously raised concerns about industry consolidation. Puckett noted the risks of limited competition.
“They've described that the levels of concentration domestically in a number of countries is really unacceptable," he said.
Farm leaders encourage growers to continue sharing their experiences with policymakers.
“The farmers feel these price increases first, and then it trickles down to the consumer,” Tipton said. “And that's why the consumer should be so concerned about what we're seeing out there.”
Photo Credit: getty-images-elhenyo
Categories: Ohio, Business