Local farmers concerned war with Iran will impact fertilizer 

MARSHALL COUNTY, Ind. -- It’s planning season, not planting season, on Clay Geyer’s farm in Bremen. 

While he can’t plan for everything Mother Nature throws his way, he felt like he was in a good spot for the upcoming spring.  

That is, until a few weeks ago. 

“I started noticing fuel prices were climbing,” Geyer recalled. “I'm like, ‘well, usually fuel and fertilizer go hand in hand.’”  

“I've watched fertilizer prices from the beginning of the year and they've already climbed 35 percent,” Geyer added. 

That recent spike is partially related to actions thousands of miles away from Geyer’s tractors: the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran, and the corresponding blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.  

While many know of the passageway’s power in global oil trade, farmers depend on the Strait of Hormuz for delivery of fertilizer, and more specifically, nitrogen fertilizer. 

“I've heard that there's least 2 million tons of nitrogen locked up in the Strait of whatever that body of water that is. And so it may or may not get here, and by the time it does get here, will it be too late,” Geyer said.  

Geyer told ABC57 News that some farmers he knows have shifted what they are going to plant based on these fertilizer fears. 

“Corn and wheat and hay crops are very dependent on nitrogen,” Geyer explained. “Some guys may be shifting their commodities to soybeans. Where soybeans make their own nitrogen.” 

However, Geyer said that if too many farmers make the switch to soybeans, it might oversaturate the market. Also, commodity prices aren’t in great shape, and there’s still lingering concerns from last fall’s trade war with China. 

Geyer has already locked in most of the nitrogen that he’ll need this year. However, he said if any problems sprout up, he does have...aromatic alternatives...to fertilize his fields. 

We do have cattle,” Geyer explained. “So hopefully we can use the manure and the commercial fertilizer to kind of help offset the blunt of the prices.” 

For consumers, though, Geyer said these price increases are going to be passed down the line from the farm to the market, and it’s not going to get better anytime soon. 

“Even if things change now, I think you're still going to see this for a prolonged period of time,” Geyer said.