US farmers struggle to afford fertilizer amid Iran war

On a farm in Goldsboro, North Carolina, where her husband’s family has worked the land for generations, Lorinda Offerman faces familiar obstacles — but also new pressures she couldn’t have predicted just months ago.

““We’re always battling weather, disease and insects. Over three years we’ve seen record high input prices, and they’ve just gone up over the last six or eight weeks,” Offerman said.

Fertilizer prices have risen due to shipping disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East, and the higher costs are spreading throughout American agriculture as spring planting begins. Farmers are forced to reduce inputs, move crops, and reconsider the amount of plants they can grow, which could impact the supply of some crops in the United States and around the world.

New survey data from the American Farm Bureau Federation shows that access to and affordability of fertilizer has become a defining challenge for this year’s growing season. Nearly six in 10, or 58%, reported deteriorating financial conditions amid rising input and fuel costs, according to the survey conducted April 3-April 11.

A large percentage of farmers say they cannot buy all the fertilizer they need. In the Midwest, nearly half, or 48%, said they couldn’t afford the fertilizer they needed. This share was at least 66% in the western, northeastern and southern regions.

Offerman said she did not order fertilizer ahead of time, a common practice in the industry, because her farm couldn’t make ends meet last year, and she was hoping for lower prices as this year’s growing season began.

“We can’t wait to [Strait of Hormuz] “We have to open back up and have those ships get here before we have to buy those inputs,” Overman said.

Fertilizer and nitrogen costs on her farm jumped from $139 an acre last year to an unexpected $217 this season.

Now preparing for a less profitable farming season, she is among many farmers rewriting their books to try to cushion the blow from rising commodity costs.

This could not only affect the profits of these farmers, but it could also affect their ability to grow the amount of major crops they normally grow.

While farmers across the United States are experiencing rising costs, the impact is not evenly distributed across lands.

Producers in the South are most exposed, according to Farm Bureau data, with only 19% booking fertilizer in advance of the season — far less than the Midwest, where 67% have reserved supplies early. This time gap is critical: farmers who did not purchase in advance now face higher prices.

As a result, 78% of Southern farmers say they cannot afford all the fertilizer required, compared to 48% in the Midwest.

This is particularly worrying given the crop mix. More than 80% of rice, cotton and peanut producers say they are unable to afford the necessary inputs. These crops will be the most vulnerable to reduced production this season, compared to soybeans, which require less nitrogen.

That’s why farmers like Offerman say they’re adjusting their planting strategy this year.

“We’re going to reduce our corn acreage and try to grow a crop that’s less dependent on fertilizer and nitrogen, which is soybeans,” Offerman said. “We’ll also… spread this fertilizer, a little thinner.”

Tommy Salisbury, an Oklahoma farmer and leader of the Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers group, said the rise in fertilizer prices has come at an inappropriate time for farmers.

“This increase in fertilizer that we talked about happened right before spring planning. This was the worst timing of all,” Salisbury said. “We’ve already been budgeted.”

Salisbury plans to reduce the acreage of milo, a corn-like grain, as well as focus on soybeans to offset higher costs. To make matters worse, crop prices are so low that it is difficult to break even when faced with higher costs.

“We’re paying input prices for 2026, but we’re getting crop prices in the 70s and 80s,” he said.

All of this poses a threat to revenues for 2026.

When farmers reduce fertilizer use or change their acreage, it increases the risk of lower crop yields and lower overall production. With large parts of the South, Northeast and West unable to fully fertilize crops, the Farm Bureau notes that these risks are increasing.

The advocacy group aims to meet with the White House to push for more aid to farmers in the coming months.