American farmers, already dealt stiff blows from tariff costs, are struggling to survive as the war in Iran sends fertilizer, feed and energy prices sky-high – threatening to push grocery prices even higher.
Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has massively disrupted global oil supplies – but the vital maritime route is also responsible for transporting roughly a third of the world’s fertilizer, according to UN Trade and Development, the United Nations body that deals with international commerce.
The price of nitrogen, the main component of synthetic fertilizers, is up 23.6% over the past year, according to February’s Producer Price Index, the most recently available government data.
“Farmers have been underwater,” Harriet Behar, a lifelong farmer based in Wisconsin and member of the Organic Farmers Association, told The Post on Wednesday.
Between the war and President Trump’s tariffs, farmers are facing a “double whammy,” she added.
Canceled soybean orders from China after Trump slapped the country with steep tariffs have forced farmers to lay off workers or shut down their businesses altogether, while other import taxes have made machinery and fertilizer more expensive.
“The cost of producing the crops is higher than the return,” Behar said. “What we’re really seeing out here in farm country is a lot of farmers are saying, ‘I don’t even know if I’m gonna plant a crop this year … and if this continues, I’m done.’”
Americans could soon see higher prices on shorter-season crops that rely on synthetic fertilizer – mostly produce like lettuce and tomatoes, according to Behar.
She said corn, which needs nitrogen-based fertilizer to grow well, will also be hit hard – and since corn-based feed is used to nourish livestock, consumers could see prices for beef and veal climb even higher at the grocery store.
Prices for beef and veal at stores are already 14.4% higher than last year, according to February’s Consumer Price Index, as droughts and higher production costs have shrunk the US cattle herd population to its lowest level since World War II.
“After years of low profitability, many producers downsized or left the business, and we’re not seeing a meaningful rebuild of the herd,” Will Harris, a fourth-generation cattle rancher and owner of White Oak Pastures in Georgia, told The Post.
Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order to quadruple beef imports from Argentina in an effort to lower prices – a move the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said would further damage the “livelihoods of American cattlemen and women.”
Meanwhile, fresh energy supply shocks from the war in Iran couldn’t be coming at a worse time for US farmers — who are currently preparing for the critical spring planting season, which can start as early as March, according to Behar and Harris.
“This is the exact time of year when row crop farmers are preparing their land and putting down fertilizer and other materials, and both of those processes depend heavily on diesel and natural gas,” Harris said. “There’s really no part of the food system that is not touched by energy costs.”
Some farmers are already rushing to switch over to natural fertilizers like manure, though that is artificially pushing up prices, according to Behar – but there are no alternatives to diesel, which is needed to power tractors and other farm equipment.
Iran’s effective closure of the strait sent national average diesel prices soaring to $5.37 a gallon as of Wednesday – a more than 43% jump over the past month, according to AAA.
Higher diesel costs could spike prices for all kinds of consumer goods, including apparel, food and furniture, since most of these items are transported on heavy trucks that run on the pricier fuel.
Analysts have also warned of an “Armageddon” disruption in the supply of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, which is used for electricity, heating and cooking, after strikes on Qatar’s massive Las Raffan plant.
Most of the fertilizer used on US farms is made in North America – but LNG is required for the production process, so American-made fertilizer will grow more expensive if shortages last.
Behar compared current economic conditions to the farm crisis of the 1980s, when many farmers were unable to replace equipment or make their land payments – leading to swaths of bankruptcy filings and foreclosures.
In 2025, farm bankruptcies grew for the second year in a row – soaring 46% from the previous year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The average age of American farmers has continued to rise, hitting 58.1 in 2022 – up more than half a year from 2017, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture.
“People, if they’re that close to retirement, they might just say, ‘I’m just gonna quit now,’” Behar told The Post.
“Everybody’s hanging on as long as they can but it seems like every time the farmers turn around, there’s something else.”
The US Department of Agriculture approved up to $11 billion in farmer assistance to counter added tariff costs – but that relief was short-lived, as payments started on Feb. 28, the same day the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. It is unclear how much aid has been sent to farmers so far.
The Trump administration has said it is looking for other sources of fertilizer to keep supply steady amid the war in Iran, including possibly from Venezuela.
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