DOJ, USDA to Examine Rising Farm Input Costs

Reuters’ Leah Douglas reported late last week that “the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust division will work with the Department of Agriculture to look closely at the rising cost of agricultural inputs like fertilizer and seeds under a memorandum of understanding signed on Thursday, said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.”

“The goal of the joint effort is to ‘protect American farmers and ranchers from the burdens imposed by high and volatile input costs, such as feed, fertilizer, fuel, seed, equipment and other essential goods,’ Rollins said at the Ag Outlook Forum in Kansas City, Missouri,” according to Douglas’s reporting. “The DOJ will scrutinize competitive conditions in the agricultural marketplace, including antitrust enforcement that promotes free market competition, Rollins said.”

“Rollins previously said the USDA is examining high fertilizer costs and exploring options for farmer relief,” Douglas reported.

Bloomberg’s Erin Ailworth reported that “the cost of key inputs such as fertilizers and tractors have been on the rise this year, partly because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. That has squeezed farmers at a time when they are also dealing with low crop prices and China’s shift away from American soybeans.”

“Rollins also cited concerns about ‘undue foreign influence’ on the market, ‘especially given a significant portion of our fertilizer production is overseas,'” Ailworth reported. “The agriculture sector, which is highly concentrated, has drawn increased scrutiny over the past few years. Seed, fertilizer and equipment producers had already been targeted by the Biden administration’s 2021 initiative to strengthen competition — a push that was revoked by President Donald Trump last month.”

“Last year, Biden announced a $500 million plan to boost domestic fertilizer supply and ease cost pressures on farmers,” Ailworth reported. “A 2023 study by the USDA found that two companies supplied almost 72% of the corn seeds cultivated by US farmers.”

👏 Big news: @USDA + @TheJusticeDept will scrutinize skyrocketing farm input costs, from fertilizer to seed to equipment.

Farmers have been squeezed for years by extreme consolidation.

We’ve built a Data Hub with everything you need to understand the problem. 🧵⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ciMRvp32Bl

— Farm Action (@FarmActionUS) September 25, 2025

Agri-Pulse’s Kim Chipman reported that “corn grower groups, including in the top U.S.-growing state of Iowa, have previously called for federal scrutiny of pricing practices of companies and market forces that influence fertilizer prices. The push has gained bipartisan support. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin joined forces with a proposal to look at how ag industry consolidation impacts fertilizer prices.”

Operating & Input Costs Projected Higher for 2026 Crops

Terrain Ag’s Marc Rosenbohm reported that “given the current outlook for fertilizer and other input prices, Terrain projects slightly higher operating costs for the 2026 corn and soybean crops. A mix of potential tariff impacts as well as global factors could push overall crop production costs higher in 2026 than they were in 2025. Tariffs could impact some production-cost line items such as chemicals and repairs, while global factors have contributed to higher fertilizer costs.”

“Overall, I project operating costs to be 4% higher for corn and 6% higher for soybeans in 2026 versus 2025,” Rosenbohm reported. “These are above the USDA’s estimates in June, by 2.2% for corn and 4.4% for soybeans.”