USDA Seeks Farmer Input in Fertilizer Price Collusion Probe

Bloomberg’s Ilena Peng and Michael Hirtzer reported that “the Trump administration is seeking information from farmers to help with an ongoing Justice Department probe into high costs for fertilizer, machinery and other farm inputs.”

“US Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden said he has met with officials at the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to discuss lines of inquiry, and knows that ‘farmers have a lot of information that might be relevant to these investigations,'” Peng and Hirtzer reported. “The Department of Justice is investigating whether fertilizer producers colluded to raise prices, Bloomberg reported in early March.”

“‘We need farmers to help provide us with that information on a confidential basis, so that that can help inform the investigations that are ongoing,’ Vaden said at the North American Agricultural Journalists’ annual conference in Washington on Monday,” Peng and Hirtzer reported. “‘I think we will have a mechanism in order to help encourage that exchange of information.'”

“The fertilizer industry has faced scrutiny as only a handful of producers account for most of the US’s supply of crop nutrients, and prices have never fully cooled after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 upset supplies,” Peng and Hirtzer reported. “The administration has tried to tamp down production costs for farmers, a key voting bloc that is largely backing President Donald Trump even as his trade policies have hurt crop prices and restricted some fertilizer imports. The war on Iran has sent fertilizer prices surging even further.”

USDA Deputy Secretary Again Calls Out Fertilizer Companies

Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported that “USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden continued his criticisms about concentration in the fertilizer industry, calling out The Mosaic Company for announcing it will close phosphorus mines in Brazil.”

“Vaden spoke to members of North American Agricultural Journalists (NAAJ) on Monday, with most of his comments focused on fertilizer markets and USDA’s reorganization plans,” Clayton reported. “Vaden raised broader concerns about market concentration, noting a small number of companies dominate key fertilizer segments.”

“Speaking to reporters, Vaden challenged Mosaic’s announcement last week that the company would idle production at two plants in Brazil — removing roughly 1 million metric tons of phosphate fertilizer from the global market — as contradicting basic supply-and-demand economics at a time when prices remain historically high,” Clayton reported. “…With fertilizer prices elevated for multiple years, Vaden argued the global market is signaling a need for more supply — not less. He questioned why a major producer would scale back output under those conditions.”

So disappointed in this response, @MosaicCompany, especially as you decide to idle two fertilizer production facilities, removing 1 MMT of supply from the world market. 🚨

Our Great President and this Administration have our farmers’ backs. 💪🌾

Any sleight of hand will not be… https://t.co/GTCxcBQNgi

— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) April 13, 2026

“Vaden added, ‘At a time when everyone is saying we need more supplies … why would they cut supply? They’re playing games,'” Clayton reported. “He suggested the actions could be aimed at tightening supply and supporting profit margins, raising questions about whether current pricing reflects true market competition.”

Mosaic and Simplot Support Keeping Phosphate Fertilizer Tariffs

With fertilizer prices continuing to increase in recent weeks, ag groups have repeatedly called for the International Trade Commission to revoke countervailing duties on imports of phosphate fertilizer.

But Agri-Pulse’s Oliver Ward reported at the beginning of the month that “fertilizer producers Mosaic and Simplot say they support keeping countervailing duties on Moroccan and Russian phosphate fertilizer in the five-year review now underway.”

“The tariffs on both countries’ product, which range from 16.6% to more than 47%, have been in place since 2021 after Mosaic filed a countervailing duty case. The duties are up for a five-year sunset review, in which Commerce’s International Trade Administration and the International Trade Commission assess whether they are still warranted,” Ward reported. “If the domestic industry had said it no longer needs them to prevent injury, the tariffs would have been lifted.”

While Mosaic and Simplot support keeping the countervailing duties in place, National Today reported that “Nutrien, one of the largest U.S. producers, says it is time to lift the tariffs.”

“Nutrien, which produces 20% of the U.S. phosphate fertilizer output through facilities in North Carolina and Florida, has been one of the main beneficiaries of the countervailing duties,” National Today reported. “However, the company now says that ‘based on evolving global phosphate supply and demand dynamics since 2021,’ removing the tariffs would be a ‘constructive step’ to support U.S. farmers and agricultural productivity.”