DELAWARE, Ohio – The Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association has joined organizations from 13 other corn-producting states in questioning the high prices farmers are paying for fertilizers.
“Farmers are dealing with razor-thin margins, and if someone or something is manipulating the price of an essential tool like fertilizer, then we deserve to know more about what is going on,” said Eric Tipton, president of the OCWGA.
The organizations sent a joint letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins asking for answers after it was announced a federal probe has been launched regarding possible price fixinging in the fertilizer industry.
According to the OCWGA, federal officials have warned of extreme consolidation in the industry, the formation of a duopoly that could create possible price manipulation.
“This isn’t about pointing fingers,” Tipton said. “It’s about ensuring that American farmers operate in a marketplace that is fair, transparent and competitive. If something isn’t right in this marketplace, farmers deserve to know, and so does every American who depends on the food we grow.”
According to The Ohio State University Extension, the average price of fertilizer products were 5% lower in Ohio than the national average on Jan. 1, when a survey was taken of prices at 17 Ohio retailers. However, compared with the state’s prices a year earlier, nearly all fertilizer products surveyed were up significantly.
The letter to Bondi and Rollins notes that the overall production cost of corn is expected to rise another 4% in 2026, and farmers are currently making purchasing decisions as net farm income is expected to decline in 2026.
The letter commends steps already taken in the establishment of a Food Supply Chain Security Task Force and urges the investigation to include America’s farmers and other industry leaders as it continues and results are determined.
Along with Ohio, the letter was signed by corn and other commodity growers associations in Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas.