Congress eyes escalating input costs

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Congress eyes escalating input costs

Congress is looking into the escalating cost of fertilizer as farmers plan for next year.

U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Iowa, tells Brownfield anhydrous prices are up 122 percent, potash is 115 percent more expensive, and urea costs 105 percent more than it did a year ago.

“One of the main culprits is the rising cost of natural gas, the catalyst to make nitrogen and phosphate.”

During a House Ag Committee hearing on supply chain issues Wednesday, he says tariffs on certain fertilizer imports was mentioned as another culprit.

“The tariff issue is something we could fix fairly quickly. But when it comes to natural gas and stuff like that, if we’re energy independent it all makes a difference. But now there’s such demand for natural gas, it’s also affecting input costs.”

Feenstra says domestically, trucker shortages and port delays are also contributing to higher fertilizer prices.

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