Corn growers have experienced tough financial times for years with high input prices and futures prices which haven’t kept up. Now, due to the Iran war, fertilizer supplies have been cut off through the Strait of Hormuz, impacting farmers just as planting season is getting underway. Matt Frostic is a Michigan farmer and First Vice President of the National Corn Growers Association.
“You could ask the generations, just two generations ago that were in Europe during World War Two, they understand what it’s like to be a hungry society. We do not have that. We’re very, very fortunate in this country, and that’s why we continue to celebrate what farmers are doing to allow us to have the freedom to be able to do anything we want, because we do not have to worry about the security of where our next meal is coming from.”
Lesly McNitt, NCGA Vice President of Public Policy, says there is already a lack of competitive phosphate options for farmers, now worsened by the Middle East conflict.
“In a typical year, the United States sources about 40% of imported phosphate products from Saudi Arabia. When these fertilizers can’t be transported through the Strait of Hormuz, there are real implications for availability and price, and there is a global market impact.”
McNitt says NCGA is strongly discouraging fertilizer companies from price gouging or from using the Middle East conflict as an excuse for discouraging policymakers from taking additional actions that could offset some of the price shocks growers are experiencing.