As Trump’s Iran War Sends Fertilizer Prices Soaring — Schumer Unveils First-Ever Plan To Protect American Farmers From Price Shocks & Create National Fertilizer Reserve

The Strategic Fertilizer Reserve Act Would Lay Groundwork For America's First-Ever Fertilizer Reserve As Iran War Chokes Global Supply, Drives Up Farm Costs & Squeezes American Farmers

As farmers across the country face rapidly increasing and punishing costs due to Trump's war in Iran and ongoing tariff chaos, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the Strategic Fertilizer Reserve Act, which would help protect farmers from spiking fertilizer prices by taking preliminary steps towards establishing a Strategic Fertilizer Reserve.

"Thanks to Trump's affordability crisis, farmers are already operating on razor-thin margins. They shouldn't also have to absorb a 40% spike in fertilizer costs because Donald Trump plunged the country into another war," said Leader Schumer. "America's farmers should be focused on their next crop, not whether the next global crisis is going to blow another hole in their budget. When fertilizer prices spike, farmers get squeezed, planting decisions get harder, and eventually families feel it at the grocery store. A Strategic Fertilizer Reserve would give farmers a real backstop and bring some stability when war or supply shocks send costs soaring."

"Between the war in Iran and increased tariffs, rising input costs like fertilizer continue to erode farmers' profitability. I've been working to increase fertilizer production and price transparency here at home, and that includes determining whether a strategic fertilizer reserve can help us stabilize input markets and improve the resilience of our food supply chain in the long-term. This bill will help identify potential solutions to ensure farmers and agribusinesses have a steady supply of the inputs they need to keep feeding and fueling the world," said Senator Klobuchar.

The Strategic Fertilizer Reserve Act will:

1. Instruct USDA to study the feasibility of creating a Strategic Fertilizer Reserve, which would protect farmers from future fertilizer price volatility and supply chain disruptions.
2. Direct USDA to examine factors such as size, location(s), price stabilization, safety and risk management, withdrawal protocols, and more
3. Establish, upon a positive finding from USDA, a Board of Directors to oversee the Reserve's operations, including representatives from across the agriculture community, and require regular reporting to Congress on the functioning of the Reserve.

The New York Farm Bureau has revealed fertilizer prices have skyrocketed since last year, from approximately $400 a ton to $580 a ton, a more than 40% increase, with anhydrous ammonia now over $1,000 a ton. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which accounted for approximately 30% of the world's fertilizer-related shipments before February 2026, has created a chasm in the supply chain, reaching close to zero shipments for the past several months.

A recent report from New York State showed the state's farmers faced increased expenses of $20,000 annually and according to a recent report from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee - Minority, the average farmer spent as much as $1,500 more to refill their farm's on-site fuel tank compared to the same high point during the 2025 season. As they enter the fall harvest and planting season, prolonged high fuel and fertilizer costs are forcing farmers to make tough decisions on how many acres to plant for next year.

These rising costs come at a time of increasing economic difficulty for farmers, particularly small and family farms. In 2025, 315 farmers filed for bankruptcy, a 46% increase from the year before, including nine in New York. In the last four decades, America has lost well over half a million farms and more than 150 million acres of farmland. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), small family farms account for just 14% of agricultural sales, and the number of small family farms shrunk 10% from 2017 to 2022.

The Strategic Fertilizer Reserve Act is endorsed by the National Farmers Union and New York Farm Bureau.

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