WASHINGTON - US farmers are facing a double whammy of soaring fertiliser and diesel prices after US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered Tehran's blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for such shipments.
The cost hikes strike at a major support base for President Donald Trump, who won 78 percent of the 2024 vote in farming-dependent counties, said news service Investigate Midwest.
Trump blamed "price gouging from the fertiliser monopoly" on Saturday, vowing: "American Farmers, we have your back!"
But spring planting is already ongoing.
It's estimated that nitrogen fertiliser has risen by at least 40 percent in price.
The cost of urea -- a common nitrogen-based fertiliser -- had jumped by around 50 percent at the port of New Orleans.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said 80 percent of American farmers had bought fertiliser for the spring planting season before the conflict.
But that's cold comfort to those who lacked funds and capacity to do so.
Fertiliser supply has diminished before, like in 2021 when China restricted phosphate exports to prioritise domestic needs.
The US agriculture economy has "been in a recession for the last couple of years," said Iowa State University professor Chad Hart.
Net farm income has declined while business costs remain high.
Although margins are squeezed this year, the hit may be less than anticipated as many farmers managed to apply fertilizer last fall or earlier this spring.
But the 2027 crop would be "a big concern" if fighting persists, Hart said.