Last week, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that the Trump Administration is planning to boost domestic fertilizer production by permitting a new CF Industries ammonia plant to begin construction within a few weeks in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, which is near the Mississippi River. The price tag for the plant is expected to be almost $4 million. When it is completed, the plant will be the world’s largest ammonia plant. Rollins stated that “We’re so excited about not only the fertilizer implications of that, but the hundreds and hundreds of jobs that will come along with it for the great state of Louisiana.” But this new plant won’t have an impact on current fertilizer prices, because construction will take about four years.
The war with Iran is impacting Farmers worldwide, because about a third of traded urea, a common nitrogen fertilizer, comes from the Gulf region. Now that Strait of Hormuz is mostly closed, prices have jumped to multi-year highs, and with no end in sight, disruptions in fertilizer supplies are expected to persist. A prolonged conflict could mean weaker harvests and higher grocery prices, and the United Nations is warning that 45 million people may face acute food insecurity if fertilizer supplies are not returned to normal. But some farmers are turning to an alternative, the age-old fertilizer, manure, from chickens, cattle, sheep, goats, or whatever, which is not a new idea for organic farmers.
There appears to be some cracks showing in farmer’s support for President Trump and his policies that are affecting rural America. According to a recent farmer survey, commissioned by Farm Journal Magazine, and conducted by Amato Advisors polled 974 farmers and ranchers across 44 states. 55% of respondents said federal policies have had a negative effect on their farming operations over the past year. Only 19% of those polled said current policies have helped them, and 39% of them said that they might be persuaded to flip from voting for Republican candidates to another party in the midterm elections, or not voting at all. Additional findings include, 78% of respondents stated that machinery and input costs such as fertilizer, fuel, seed and crop chemicals are crushing them due to both tariffs and supply chain issues that have been exacerbated by the war with Iran. Something that should be alarming to the Trump Administration is that 39% of respondents said they remain “persuadable” in the upcoming midterm elections, meaning that they are open to choosing a different party or not voting at all. About 50% of farmers who say they either “always” or “usually” vote for Republican candidates, state that they are more motivated to vote in the upcoming election than in the last cycle.
The Memorial Day holiday is often considered to be the beginning of summer even if astronomical summer doesn’t start until June 21st. But it is also the beginning of the outdoor barbecue season. While ground beef at almost $7 per pound and the average of all cuts of beef is at record-level prices of over $10 a pound, due to a combination of tight supply and surging demand, cooks can still dish up some tasty barbecue this summer by substituting pork and chicken for beef. Pork prices are remaining stable at an average of $4.87 per pound retail, while chicken offers the best value at $2.41 per pound.
Austrian Psychiatrist and philosopher, Viktor Frankl wrote, "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."
