Months before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, fertilizer prices spiked to all-time highs. These spikes coincided suspiciously with an increase in income farmers earned from commodity crops like soybeans and corn. When we looked into it, we found that fertilizer corporations’ own financial statements disproved their excuses about higher costs and supply chain issues.
So the Farm Action team called on the DOJ to investigate. We also published a research paper and testified before Congress in our campaign to bring attention to the price gouging.
In June of 2022, we were joined by 23 signing organizations in urging the USDA to create a more competitive fertilizer industry by directing investment away from consolidated corporations, monitoring price-gouging, and by more aggressively preventing corporate mergers.
Farm Action is working on long term solutions to transform the food and farm system, like supporting alternative fertility management systems. If we shift government support toward programs that reward farmers for the use of regenerative practices that use less fertilizer, we can free farmers from under the thumb of consolidated corporations.
With your support, the Farm Action team can keep fighting for food system reform.
Sign our petition and tell the DOJ to investigate the suspicious spike in fertilizer prices!
USDA is directing substantial funds for renewable energy and domestic fertilizer to big industrial operations, “while America’s farmers get the crumbs,” said Farm Action president Angela Huffman.
America’s antitrust enforcers must prevent dominant firms from capitalizing on investments made with public resources, we told DOJ and FTC in a letter.
Consolidated fertilizer corporations shouldn’t benefit from the very government projects meant to curb their industry power, said Farm Action.
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