The letter details how blocked shipments of urea and ammonia, port backlogs, and shutdowns at regional production facilities are cascading into higher input costs for U.S. farmers as planting season begins. 

The lawmakers write: “It has become increasingly clear that the Administration decided to initiate hostilities without considering the obviously foreseeable consequences this would have upon American agriculture” and warn that “farmers will be forced to either pay higher prices for fertilizer that they need or go with less and risk low production yields; either way their tight margins – already in the red for many farmers – will only worsen.” 

The letter writers note that as the Iranian regime has retaliated and spread the conflict to many Gulf States, facilities essential to fertilizer production have come under direct attack, foreshadowing longer-term consequences for American farmers even if the war were to end soon: 

“Even if the Strait reopens, it will take weeks to bring the plants back online and get them running efficiently. Plants that are damaged will need to be repaired. Ports will have to catch up on loading ships, leading to a backlog and prolonged supply chainslowdown. It could be months before supply chains normalize,” the lawmakers write. 

In addition to urging Agriculture Secretary Rollins to communicate a public action plan for how the Trump administration will reduce fertilizer prices and stabilize markets for American farmers, the lawmakers request an examination of how existing tariffs can be reduced or suspended to ease fertilizer prices and for an estimation of the increase in costs to farmers because of higher fuel and fertilizer costs caused by Trump's war with Iran. 

Read the letter here.