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Farmers share fertilizer concerns with USDA Deputy Secretary Vaden at Iowa hearing

The Trump administration is meeting with farmers to hear how fertilizer pricing challenges are impacting their operations.

During a fertilizer hearing in Iowa on Friday, central Iowa farmer Mark Muench said the cost of fertilizer is causing many producers to reach a breaking point.

“It’s cost my family hundreds of thousands in extra expenses some years,” Muench said. “In the last 20 years, it’s cost us multiple millions.”

USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden attended the hearing, and said the administration is aware that prices have been out of control.

“We all know something hasn’t been right in the fertilizer market,” Vaden said. “We all know that it’s not really a free market.”

Western Ohio farmer John Settlemyre says the market is broken.

“Farm bankruptcies are on the rise, up 220% here in Iowa,” Settlemyre said. “All the while, fertilizer monopolies have lined their pockets profiting on the livelihood of the American farmer.”

South-central Iowa farmer Steve Kuiper says the lack of competition is hurting producers.

“There’s a general sentiment pointing towards widespread collusion,” Kuiper said. “We don’t have the tools to investigate these fertilizer companies.”

Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Iowa says there are efforts in Washington, D.C. to boost fertilizer transparency.

“We’re trying to force more regular reporting through the Fertilizer Price Transparency Act, and Fertilizer Research Act so we know where those inputs are coming from,” Hinson said.

Vaden says there’s been some progress on price relief over the past year, but more work is critically needed.

“To inject actual competition into the fertilizer market for the first time in heaven knows when,” Vaden said.

The hearing, called “Fed Up: Fertilizer Cartel Profits on Farmers’ Backs,” was hosted in Ogden, Iowa and featured farmer testimony from growers across the US.