Iran War Disrupts Fertilizer Supply, Driving Sharp Cost Spikes for U.S. Farmers

An Associated Press report details how the U.S.–Israel war with Iran and resulting slowdown in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz are already driving steep fertilizer price increases and potential shortages for American farmers as spring planting nears. Tennessee corn, soybean and wheat farmer Todd Littleton expects to pay about $100,000 more for fertilizer this season — a roughly 40% jump from last year — after several years of financial losses, and farm groups warn some growers who did not pre‑order may be unable to obtain nitrogen altogether. The American Farm Bureau Federation notes that about 15% of U.S. fertilizer imports come from the Middle East, which supplies roughly half the world’s urea and 30% of its ammonia, and that the current conflict has largely halted nitrogen exports from the Persian Gulf and constrained key raw materials. South Carolina Farm Bureau head Harry Ott says warehouses do not have enough stockpiled to cover anticipated demand, while CoBank economist Jacqui Fatka cautions that even a quick end to the fighting would not bring rapid price relief because earlier shocks from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s phosphate export limits have already tightened global supply. The story underscores how a war sold to U.S. audiences as a distant strategic fight is feeding directly into higher farm input costs, threatening crop margins and eventually food and fuel prices for consumers.