"The high cost of fertilizer and other farming necessities pushed many row crop farmers into the red last year. Ubel says some were holding out for lower prices this spring, only to see the price of the most common nitrogen fertilizer, urea, spike close to 30% when Iran shut down shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, halting close to half the world's fertilizer trade."
"Farmers in rural Kansas, and across the world, are feeling the unexpected consequences of the war in the Persian Gulf because closing the Strait of Hormuz has bottled up almost 50% of the world's urea exports."
"If you had sat us down before and said, 'Hey, I want you to think of the nightmare scenario for fertilizer. What would it be?' It would be this exact event during this exact time of year."
"The Fertilizer Institute predicts that U.S. farmers will be short some 2,000,000 tons of urea this spring."
The spring planting season is underway in the northern hemisphere, with farmers preparing soil nutrients, primarily nitrogen fertilizer. The cost of fertilizer has surged, particularly urea, due to geopolitical tensions in the Persian Gulf, which have disrupted nearly half of the world's fertilizer trade. Farmers are facing a predicted shortfall of 2 million tons of urea in the U.S. this spring, complicating planting efforts. Despite being the top natural gas producer, the U.S. still relies on imports for a significant portion of its nitrogen fertilizer needs.
Read at www.npr.org
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