With fertilizer supply chain issues and prices causing major headaches for U.S. farmers, the USDA said it’s investing $1.3 billion in selected projects to strengthen domestic sources. 

As part of the Fertilizer Investment & Expansion for Long-Term Domestic Supply (FIELDS) Program, 8 projects in the U.S. will see the cash contributions, including approximately $573 million in proposed USDA funding.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said the move is meant to, “strengthen domestic fertilizer manufacturing, reduce America’s dependence on foreign suppliers, and increase long-term fertilizer availability for American farmers.” 

The USDA originally launched the FIELDS program with $500 million to expand domestic fertilizer manufacturing and address supply chain issues that sent fertilizer prices to historical highs. 

Rollins and Vice President J.D. Vance said Thursday that additional funding is being made available that was recovered from, “failed projects” under the Biden Administration’s Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP.

While in Nebraska Thursday, Vance said nearly 2 million farmers managing 874 million acres across the U.S., “are going to have fertilizer at lower costs that is made by Americans.”

“Farm security is national security. America cannot afford to depend on foreign nations for the fertilizer needed to grow our food and feed our families,” Rollins said in a statement.

America’s fertilizer industry has come under intense scrutiny, especially this year, as farmers already plagued by stagnant crop prices and high equipment, fuel and borrowing costs have also grappled with galloping fertilizer costs. 

The USDA has noted 4 companies control approximately 77% of North American nitrogen fertilizer production capacity; two companies account for more than 90% of phosphate production capacity, and two companies produce approximately 90% of North America’s potash. 

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division is running parallel civil and criminal investigations into major commercial fertilizer producers over potential price-fixing, market allocation, and collusion. CF Industries Holdings, Mosaic Co., Koch Fertilizer, Nutrien Ltd. and Yara International were among those being targeted.

The DOJ has said it’s coordinating closely with the USDA under an expanded Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to protect agricultural input competition, alongside another parallel industry-wide inquiry by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The USDA says the FIELDS investments are expected to support approximately 1 million tons of annual domestic fertilizer production and capacity across the selected projects. 

The agency said its economic analysis estimates the additional production could reduce N fertilizer prices by 4.4% and K prices by 5.3%, while increasing domestic N production by 3.7% and K production by nearly 40% once the projects are operational.

The 8 projects selected to move forward in the FIELDS funding process include:

• TalusAg – Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Tennessee, Nebraska, Illinois, and South Dakota: Selected for approximately $99.8 million in proposed USDA funding toward a $270.2 million project to deploy 20 modular ammonia manufacturing units across 11 locations in 7 states. Using American energy, air and water, the systems are expected to produce approximately 130,000 tons of anhydrous ammonia annually.
• Peace Valley – Florida: Selected for approximately $19.9 million in proposed USDA funding toward a $50.6 million project to expand fertilizer manufacturing in Bartow, Fla. The project is expected to produce about 250,000 tons annually of N-, P-, K- and sulfur-containing fertilizer products.
• PCI Nitrogen – Texas and Oregon: Selected for approximately $100 million in proposed USDA funding toward a $200 million project to modernize fertilizer manufacturing facilities in Pasadena, Texas, and St. Helens, Ore. The improvements are expected to support approximately 148,280 tons of annual fertilizer production, including ammonium sulfate and urea.
• Intrepid Potash – New Mexico: Selected for approximately $139 million in proposed USDA funding toward a $265 million project to construct a sulfate of potash manufacturing facility near Carlsbad, N.M. The proposed facility would produce approximately 220,000 tons annually and establish an additional domestic source of this important specialty fertilizer.
• AdvanSix – Virginia: Selected for approximately $47.4 million in proposed USDA funding toward a $98.1 million project to modernize and expand an existing ammonia manufacturing facility in Hopewell, Va. The project is expected to produce approximately 84,000 tons of anhydrous ammonia annually.
• SUL4R-PLUS Illinois – Illinois: Selected for approximately $34.9 million in proposed USDA funding toward a $69.7 million project to expand an existing sulfur fertilizer manufacturing facility in Marissa, Ill. The project will add a manufacturing line and improve storage and transportation infrastructure to support approximately 100,000 tons of annual sulfur fertilizer production.
• True Organic Products – California, Oregon, and Arizona: Selected for approximately $15.3 million in proposed USDA funding toward a $30.6 million project to expand fertilizer manufacturing at facilities in Helm, Calif.; Boardman, Ore.; and Arlington, Ariz. The project is expected to support approximately 142,805 tons of annual fertilizer production using agricultural byproducts.
• Agriculture Project Holdco – Kansas and Indiana: Selected for approximately $116.9 million in proposed USDA funding toward a $360 million project to develop two fertilizer manufacturing facilities in Lewis, Kan., and Fair Oaks, Ind. The facilities would convert dairy manure into approximately 4,100 tons of liquid ammonium nitrate fertilizer annually, creating additional domestic fertilizer production capacity.

The FIELDS Program is administered by USDA Rural Development’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service using Commodity Credit Corporation authorities. Additional information is available through USDA Rural Development at www.rd.usda.gov.