Iran war deprives US farmers of affordable fertilizer as spring planting looms

[Woodznutz]

The Great Salt Lake in Utah can supply most of our potassium sulfate. No problem.

Enjoy music.

can pottasiun sulfate from the great salt lake be used as fertilizer? - Search Videos

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[Winston]

Or this is just another made-up story. Currently 25% of fertilizer flows thru the Strait.

We get most of your fertilizer from Canada......which is only because the traitor Obama made sure much of our mining resources were declared national parks and preserves and were put off limits. Not to mention the fact that in 2024 we were 100% dependent on minerals from exports. China is currently the leading producer of mineral products.
Now it becomes clear why Trump was talking about making Canada a US province.

U.S. Still Heavily Import-Reliant for Minerals—Permitting Reform Can Break the Cycle - Minerals Make Life

Long-term progress cannot happen overnight, and the only way to make significant strides in reducing U.S. mineral import reliance is by passing meaningful permitting reform laws.

mineralsmakelife.org

Actually, China imports far more fertilizer than the US. And yes, Canada has the world's largest potash reserves.

 

[mudwhistle]

Actually, China imports far more fertilizer than the US. And yes, Canada has the world's largest potash reserves.

China produces the most minerals in the world......thanks to Obama/Biden.

 

[Dragonlady]

https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/executive_briefings/ebot_potash.pdf

And??? What’s your point?

What is the effect of Trump’s useless EO. Is that going to help US farmers anytime soon?

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Actually, China imports far more fertilizer than the US. And yes, Canada has the world's largest potash reserves.

However, China treats fertilizer as a critical resource--and has a national strategic reserve.
So, as we twist in the wind, they ensure their food supply is secured.

Fertilizer Reserves Released as Hormuz Crisis Shakes Global Supply

China moved early to release fertilizer reserves as the Strait of Hormuz disruption threatens global supply ahead of spring planting.

www.agrolatam.com

China announced Friday, March 13, that it will release fertilizer from national commercial reserves ahead of the spring planting season after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted global supply chains. The move, confirmed by the China Agricultural Means of Production Association, seeks to stabilize prices and ensure farmers have access to critical crop nutrients during a period of tight global fertilizer availability.

The decision comes at a sensitive time for global agriculture markets. Farmers across the Northern Hemisphere are preparing for spring planting, a period when demand for nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers peaks. By tapping national reserves earlier than usual, Chinese authorities aim to prevent shortages that could affect crop yields and agricultural productivity.

China typically releases fertilizer reserves once a year before the spring plowing season, but this year the drawdown is occurring at least 15 days earlier than in previous cycles, according to a Beijing-based fertilizer analyst familiar with the market. The reserves include nitrogen, phosphate, and compound fertilizers, key inputs for staple crops such as corn, wheat, and rice. Officials also instructed storage companies and distributors to accelerate the sale of inventory to support market stability and prevent price spikes.

Reports of supply constraints have already emerged in key agricultural provinces including Henan and Shandong, where farmers recently complained about shortages of phosphate fertilizer as field preparations intensify. These regions are among China's most important grain-producing areas, making fertilizer availability a critical factor for maintaining crop yields and ensuring domestic food security.

 

[mudwhistle]

And??? What’s your point?

What is the effect of Trump’s useless EO. Is that going to help US farmers anytime soon?

I'm sure activist judges will do anything they can to head off anything Trump tries to do for farmers.

 

[Dragonlady]

I'm sure activist judges will do anything they can to head off anything Trump tries to do for farmers.

So far they haven’t stop Trump from bankrupting more farmers than anyone in US history.

 

[meaner gene]

Neither is importing needed fertilizer. We waste more than we import.

Much of that fertilizer is used to grow crops for export. So, the countries that import those crops will also suffer. On the bright side maybe we can fallow some acreage, give the land a rest.

Exports are INCOME.
It's how business works.
It's how we can afford to import goods, like rare earth minerals.

 

[Woodznutz]

Exports are INCOME.
It's how business works.
It's how we can afford to import goods, like rare earth minerals.

Such a deal.

U.S.​

The U.S. is facing a significant crisis with its soils losing natural fertility at an alarming rate. This loss is primarily due to unsustainable farming practices, deforestation, urban development, and the impacts of a changing climate. The Corn Belt region, in particular, has experienced a staggering loss of topsoil, with a prediction that 35±11% of the cultivated area has lost its A-horizon soil. This loss is a result of intensive tillage, which leaves fields bare and vulnerable to wind and rain, and over decades has literally shaved off the fertile top layer of many farms. The U.S. Midwest has eroded an estimated 57.6 billion tons of topsoil since large-scale farming began about 160 years ago, and soil in agricultural areas is eroding 10 to 1,000 times faster than it did in pre-agricultural times. The consequences of this loss are far-reaching, affecting not only agricultural productivity but also the overall health of the environment and the food supply.

Yale University+5

 

[meaner gene]

The Great Salt Lake in Utah can supply most of our potassium sulfate. No problem.

The U.S. gets most of its potash from Canada, which supplies over 80% of imports,

What we need is:

The Middle East is a major global hub for fertilizer production, supplying significant amounts of nitrogen-based nutrients like urea, ammonia, and phosphate-based fertilizers (DAP, MAP, TSP) to global markets. Key producers include Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, and the UAE, which together account for nearly 49% of global urea exports and 30% of ammonia exports.

 

[Winston]

And??? What’s your point?

What is the effect of Trump’s useless EO. Is that going to help US farmers anytime soon?

It did make the maximum tariff on potash 10%

 

[luiza]

Not unintended, just not perceived by a completely inept defense department. Look, if 30% of fertilizer flows through the Strait, and only 20% of oil, seems somebody missed the boat here.

Agreed .
I have seen the relevant stats in print several times well before this disagreement .

How on earth could that Langley bunch of psychopathic clowns miss them and not make securing Hormuz a number one priority before careering off on Project Epic Blunder ?
Or,
is the truth that they and others did, but the insane Trumpfy with the leeches overruled them .

I suspect the latter

 

[Winston]

Agreed .
I have seen the relevant stats in print several times well before this disagreement .

How on earth could that Langley bunch of psychopathic clowns miss them and not make securing Hormuz a number one priority before careering off on Project Epic Blunder ?
Or,
is the truth that they and others did, but the insane Trumpfy with the leeches overruled them .

I suspect the latter

I think they overestimated our own ability to keep the Straits open and Iranian ability to close it, especially through drones. Which again, was predictable.

 

[ColonelAngus]

Now lefties love fertilizer?

Environmental Impact Of Fertilizers: Harmful Effects On Ecosystems And Soil | ShunWaste

Explore the detrimental environmental impact of fertilizers on ecosystems and soil health, including pollution, biodiversity loss, and long-term soil degradation.

shunwaste.com

You people are TOO EFFING MUCH.

 

[EdwinAMartin]

The U.S. gets most of its potash from Canada, which supplies over 80% of imports,

What we need is:

The Middle East is a major global hub for fertilizer production, supplying significant amounts of nitrogen-based nutrients like urea, ammonia, and phosphate-based fertilizers (DAP, MAP, TSP) to global markets. Key producers include Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, and the UAE, which together account for nearly 49% of global urea exports and 30% of ammonia exports.

And they can get it from the Great Salt Lake if they wanted to. No need to import it.

 

[meaner gene]

I think they overestimated our own ability to keep the Straits open and Iranian ability to close it, especially through drones. Which again, was predictable.

Hegseth claims the pentagon already warplanned that scenario.
That's when he added that the Strait of Hormuz was "OPEN", but for the Iranian drone strikes against shipping.
And invited ships to sail the Straits.

Didn't we see this in Jaws? Where the beach was open but for the great white shark. And they invited people to the beach.

 

[meaner gene]

Now lefties love fertilizer?

Environmental Impact Of Fertilizers: Harmful Effects On Ecosystems And Soil | ShunWaste

Explore the detrimental environmental impact of fertilizers on ecosystems and soil health, including pollution, biodiversity loss, and long-term soil degradation.

shunwaste.com

You people are TOO EFFING MUCH.

It's the dichotomy of practicality.
We hate fertilizer, but we hate starving, and high food prices more.
We hate fossil fuels, but we hate walking and freezing more.

 

[meaner gene]

And they can get it from the Great Salt Lake if they wanted to. No need to import it.

The great salt lake is potash, we also need nitrogen fertilizers which come mostly from the middle east, and not just the potash we get mostly from Canada.

 

[Woodznutz]

If fertilizer is limited it should be limited to domestic food and feed production, not foods or feeds for export.

 

[Frankeneinstein]

I guess I'd put this in the 'unintended consequences' file.
The conflict in Iran has reduced the amount of fertilizer available and increased the cost.
As one might expect, this will increase prices and possible reduce supply of food in the US.

https://www.reuters.com/business/iran-war-deprives-us-farmers-affordable-fertilizer-spring-planting-looms-2026-03-13/

Farmers in the U.S. and Canada, already worried about another year of low profits or losses, now could have spring planting disrupted as they struggle to find fertilizer.
Prices for ‌any available supplies have spiked more than a third since the war in Iran paralyzed global trade.

The U.S., which in some years imports half of its urea fertilizer, is about 25% short of the usual supplies that farmers buy for spring planting, according to The Fertilizer Institute, which represents the U.S. fertilizer supply chain.

Supplies could grow still scarcer if fertilizer destined for the U.S. gets rerouted to other places willing to pay more for it, an analyst said.
Josh Linville, a fertilizer market analyst at StoneX, said the price offered in New Orleans, the port area where most offshore U.S. imports enter and prices are set, is as much as $119 less per metric ton than global prices.

"Not only am I worried about incoming vessels being turned around to other, better-paying destinations, there's ⁠an argument to be made, if somebody was willing to go and buy up (supply on) barges, to load them onto a vessel and export it," Linville said.

Farmers who do significant springtime fertilizer application and have not already purchased their supplies are finding retail centers empty, or stocked with supplies sold at such a premium that it's unaffordable.
"It sends shivers down your spine," said Saskatchewan, Canada farmer David Altrogge, whose broker told him that a local fertilizer dealer had stopped offering prices for fertilizer due to the shortage.
He ‌bought his ⁠urea in December, but if he bought it today it would cost C$44,000 ($32,070) more. Some farmers in his area now face that price hike or may not even be able to buy any, he said.

The Iran war has cut off critical nitrogen fertilizer supplies from the Gulf to the world's farmers. More than 30% of world nitrogen fertilizer exports, as well as fertilizer components like sulfur, pass through the now effectively closed Strait of Hormuz.

Unlike China, most countries do not hold strategic reserves of fertilizer, and much of the U.S. fertilizer dealer system does not hold stocks, leaving it vulnerable to sudden supply shortages.
"It's not like there's a whole lot of fertilizer sitting on the ⁠shelf," said Veronica Nigh, an economist at The Fertilizer Institute. "It's very much a just-in-time business model."
The length of time that the Strait of Hormuz is closed is critical. Fertilizer loaded onto ships in the Gulf can take weeks to reach markets like the U.S., and then must be transferred to river barges, trucks or trains to reach farmland. Most fertilizer needs to be applied before the crop starts growing, so any supplies arriving too late cannot be used ⁠for the 2026 crop.
Earlier this week, the American Farm Bureau Federation warned that fertilizer supply shortages could hit the ⁠U.S. food supply.
On Thursday, Senator Josh Hawley asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether fertilizer companies were involved in price-gouging. Hawley noted that prices have soared as much as 32% since the start of the war and said this was not reasonable. Nigh of The Fertilizer Institute said fertilizer prices have been rising sharply around the world, a dynamic that is expected when supplies suddenly become scarce.
He also sent a letter to the largest fertilizer companies demanding they explain the price hikes.

Enough fertilizer in this article alone to feed the planet