Phosphate added to critical minerals list following lawmaker advocacy

Hinds Today

Phosphate added to critical minerals list following lawmaker advocacy

By Hinds Today

U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) has expressed support for the Trump administration and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum following the decision to add phosphate to the 2025 Critical Minerals List. Phosphate is an important fertilizer ingredient for Mississippi's agricultural sector.

Earlier this year, Hyde-Smith and other lawmakers urged Secretary Burgum to include phosphate on the list after it was left off a draft version released by the U.S. Geological Survey in the summer. The final list, which will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, now includes both phosphate and potash.

"Expensive fertilizer costs are a significant factor in the economic headwinds hitting Mississippi's agricultural sector. Having both phosphate and potash on the Critical Minerals List should help stabilize supply chains and begin to reduce our dependence on foreign sources," Hyde-Smith said. "This is smart and commonsense policy, and I praise the President and Secretary Burgum for ensuring these key fertilizer components made the list."

In September, Hyde-Smith joined 18 other Senators and 49 House members in calling for both minerals' inclusion. They argued that listing these minerals would encourage domestic production, strengthen supply chains, decrease reliance on countries such as China, lower input prices for farmers, and help protect American food security.

"Phosphate, like potash, is indispensable to global food production and U.S. agriculture. It has no substitutes in farming, and disruptions in supply have immediate and far-reaching consequences for American producers, food prices, and national security," wrote lawmakers in their September letter. "Farmers across the country are already experiencing the impacts of market volatility and supply pressures tied to phosphate availability."

Hyde-Smith serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee where she has opposed policies she believes negatively affect fertilizer availability or affordability for Mississippi farmers.

The Critical Minerals List identifies minerals with vulnerable supply chains that are essential to national security and economic interests of the United States. It guides federal efforts aimed at increasing domestic production to lessen reliance on imports.

Organizations such as the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, National Corn Growers Association, and The Fertilizer Institute supported adding phosphate to this year's list.