Input costs have skyrocketed for U.S. farmers who are already looking at plans for 2026. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins, speaking at the Agri-Pulse 11th annual Ag Outlook Forum, talked about how much higher costs have risen since the first Trump administration.
“As I was traveling around the country, I heard a lot about fertilizer, seed, labor, interest rates, tractors, how it had all gone sky high, especially in the last four years. U.S. farm production inputs all cost so much more today than they did under the last Trump administration: seed costs up 18 percent; fuel and oil up 32 percent; electricity costs up 36 percent; labor costs up 47 percent; the cost of vehicles and machinery is up 45 percent; interest expenses up by 73 percent; and fertilizer costs increased 37 percent.”
The Secretary is very worried about foreign influence on the U.S. ag sector and has taken steps to stop it.
“I am incredibly concerned about undue foreign influence on this last market, especially given that a significant portion of our fertilizer production is overseas. To that end, USDA and the Department of Justice signed a Memorandum of Understanding that aligns a joint commitment by both of our agencies under Attorney General Pam Bondi and myself to protect American farmers and ranchers from the burdens imposed by high and volatile input costs, such as feed, fertilizer, fuel, seed, equipment, and other essential goods, while ensuring competitive supply chains, lowering consumer prices, and the resilience of U.S. agriculture and the food supply.”
The agencies will be looking at competition and consolidation in agriculture.
“The antitrust division of the DOJ will work hand-in-hand with USDA, effective immediately, to take a hard look and scrutinize competitive conditions in the agricultural marketplace, including antitrust enforcement that promotes free market competition. Farmers have enough challenges to deal with. Sky-high input prices should not be one of them. Indeed, USDA and DOJ are taking bold action today and putting farmers and ranchers first, and there will be more announcements on that to come, but that work begins today.”