Lawmakers Seek Fertilizer Price Transparency Amid Rising Costs

Bloomberg’s Michael Hirtzer reported that “a bipartisan group of US Senators introduced a bill that would require mandatory price reporting of fertilizer — a bid for more market information after the war in Iran prompted the biggest surge in crop nutrient costs in years.”

“‘At a time when rising fertilizer costs and low commodity prices are continuing to erode farmers’ profitability, we should be increasing price transparency for farmers in the current market and increasing domestic fertilizer production and storage here at home,’ Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat from Minnesota, said in a statement,” according to Hirtzer’s reporting.

“Farmers across the world are scrambling to secure enough fertilizer ahead of the spring planting season in the Northern Hemisphere. Politicians and trade groups are looking for ways to help growers, who have been struggling for years against relatively low crop prices and high costs for equipment, seeds and fertilizer,” Hirtzer reported. “The so-called Fertilizer Transparency Act would ‘offer market participants of all sizes with comparable levels of market information on fertilizer components.’ The bill is also sponsored by Senators including Republicans John Thune of South Dakota and Roger Marshall of Kansas.”

Agri-Pulse’s Kim Chipman reported that “the bill would require the Department of Agriculture to collect and publish data on fertilizer prices from manufacturers on a weekly basis, according to a statement released late Thursday from Thune’s office. USDA currently conducts a yearly voluntary survey on prices that producers pay for inputs.”

“The latest fertilizer legislation is the latest nod from Washington to the plight of crop farmers dealing with higher production costs after three straight years of lower income,” Chipman reported. “States including Iowa, Arkansas and Nebraska saw a spike in farm bankruptcies in 2025 versus the prior year.”

Fertilizer Prices Continue to Increase

Progressive Farmer’s Russ Quinn reported late last week that “higher fertilizer prices are here. Average retail prices for all eight of the major fertilizers were higher than last month during the second week of March 2026, according to sellers surveyed by DTN. Half of the nutrients had a sizeable price increase, which DTN designates as anything 5% or more. Retail prices are rising due to the U.S.-Israel-led war with Iran.”

“The price of UAN28 saw the biggest jump, up 13% compared to last month. The liquid nitrogen fertilizer had an average price of $464 per ton,” Quinn reported. “The price of urea was 12% higher than last month at $674 per ton. Anhydrous was 7% more expensive compared to last month with an average price of $924/ton. The price of UAN32 was up 5% from last month at $489/ton.”

3 weeks since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Price comparison time:

Middle East urea – 60% or $285 higher
NOLA Urea – 48% or $225st higher
NOLA UAN – 34% or $115 higher
NOLA DAP – 9% or $55 higher
NOLA Potash – 3% or $10 higher

Corn – 6% or $0.28 higher pic.twitter.com/IXJlGLL7ta

— Josh Linville (@JLinvilleFert) March 20, 2026

“Anhydrous was above the $900-per-ton level for the first time since the second week of May 2023. That week, the price was $910/ton,” Quinn reported. “Prices for the remaining four nutrients were slightly higher. DAP had an average price of $851/ton, MAP $889/ton, potash $488/ton and 10-34-0 $670/ton. …All eight fertilizers are now higher in price compared to one year earlier.”

Phosphate Fertilizer Supply Risk Increasing, too

Bloomberg’s Ilena Peng reported that “the focus since the conflict began has been on urea, a key nitrogen fertilizer used on corn. Prices for the nutrient have surged as the war blocks shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, sending farmers scrambling to procure supplies. What’s been largely overlooked in the chaos is the risk to phosphate fertilizers — key for crops like soybeans, a cornerstone of food production.”

“The Middle East accounts for only about a fifth of global trade for three key phosphate products, according to The Fertilizer Institute,” Peng reported. “But almost half of the world’s supply of sulfur — which is turned into sulfuric acid for the processing of phosphate fertilizer — comes from countries in the Middle East vulnerable to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.”

“The effects along the supply chain could start to be ‘exponential’ if the conflict continues for much longer, once producers work through existing sulfur and sulfuric acid reserves, said Andy Hemphill, who covers sulfuric acid markets for commodity pricing platform ICIS,” Peng reported. “That’s bad news for the global food supply, which counts on phosphate to support the growth of everything from soybeans to potatoes.”