Chairman Boozman Leads Committee in Examining Solutions for a Reliable and Affordable Supply of Fertilizer

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) led a hearing examining solutions to strengthen the fertilizer supply chain and improve access to affordable agricultural inputs.

The following is the Chairman's opening statement as prepared for delivery:

"Good afternoon. Thank you all again for being here today. As we all know, this hearing is being held during what continues to be a precarious time across America's agricultural economy. While input prices for our producers have been stubbornly high for the past several years, this situation has recently become more acute as farm bankruptcies increase, fuel prices remain high, and interest rates have yet to come down. The cost of fertilizer, the topic of today's hearing, has also gone up, and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about the current state of the fertilizer industry, how these high prices directly affect our producers and what potential solutions exist for Congress to ensure a stable and affordable supply of this important crop input.

"This isn't a simple problem to address as fertilizer is not a single, uniform input. Nitrogen, phosphate and potassium, commonly referred to as N, P and K, present a complicated picture of global supply chains that have been affected by the war in Ukraine, trade disputes that have resulted in countervailing duties and the recent conflict in the Middle East. Today's hearing is an important opportunity to learn more about how these factors, and others, directly impact producer costs.

"I want to commend the Trump Administration for the attention it has given to high fertilizer prices. Over the last couple months, this administration has responded by waiving Jones Act requirements and refocusing the Fertilizer Product Expansion Program to ensure projects funded under this program are up and running as soon as possible.

"In November, U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also announced the addition of phosphate and potash to the critical minerals list, which will streamline regulatory hurdles and increase domestic production of these fertilizer inputs. These mineral's importance to food security, which is national security, were clear and this was a welcome and much needed change.

"U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Rollins has continued to engage with our producers and has brought together her colleagues from across the administration to determine what additional steps they can take to provide relief.

"Several members of this committee have also proposed legislative solutions to address high fertilizer prices, and I welcome hearing from our witnesses about how these proposals may help and what additional actions Congress and the administration might take to ensure a reliable and accessible affordable supply of fertilizer for hardworking American farmers.

"With our colleagues in the House successfully passing a bipartisan farm bill 2.0, I look forward to engaging with the members of this committee on what we learn today to ensure a Senate version addresses the urgent needs of agriculture. Congress owes our nation's producers an updated farm bill that will complement the improvements we made last year in the One Big Beautiful Bill and I am committed to making that happen.

"While the proposals and solutions we hear about today may help increase production of fertilizer and bring down prices in the long-term, in the immediate future, Congress must provide additional assistance to supplement what USDA provided with the Farmer Bridge Payments and the Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers programs, to ensure producers have the working capital available to see them through the 2026 crop year.

"I have been working with my friend Senator Hoeven to advocate for this assistance and appreciate President Trump's acknowledgement of this need when a larger supplemental funding package is requested.

"Before I turn it over to Ranking Member Klobuchar for her opening statement, I ask unanimous consent that statements sent to the Committee for this hearing be included in the record, including an op-ed written by USDA Secretary Rollins and a statement submitted to the committee by Deputy Secretary Vaden.

"Without objection, so ordered. Again, I thank my colleagues and our witnesses for being here today.

"I now turn to Ranking Member Klobuchar for her opening statement."