Overview
- The American Farm Bureau Federation’s nationwide survey, released Tuesday, found 70% of 5,700 farmers say they cannot afford all the fertilizer they need and 58% report worsening finances.
- Exposure is heaviest in the South, where only 19% prebooked supplies versus 67% in the Midwest, leading many producers to cut applications, shift from corn to less nitrogen dependent soybeans, or rethink acres.
- Since late February, nitrogen prices have climbed more than 30%, urea is up about 47% at U.S. ports, and farm diesel has risen roughly 46%, pushing spring planting purchases to the costliest point of the season.
- Australia moved Thursday to speed fertilizer imports by allowing certified offshore inspections and simpler checks, a policy officials say will cut clearance times as the country also courts extra urea from Brunei.
- Global trade bodies note the strait carries about one third of urea shipments and warn that missed planting windows in South Asia and Sub‑Saharan Africa could lower yields and raise food price pressures.