The Iran war’s fertilizer shock is hammering American farmers and 70% can’t afford what they need for this year’s growing season

With the planting season ending in six weeks, skyrocketing fertilizer prices are forcing farmers into an impossible choice: cut back and lose crop yield or stay the course and lose money.

A survey published Tuesday of 5,700 farmers conducted by the Farm Bureau shows that around 70% of farmers are unable to afford all the fertilizer they need, while nearly six in 10 said their finances have worsened due to the rising cost of both fertilizer and fuel. 

The new data comes as the Iran war has strangled the global supply chain as Iran exerts its control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-third of the global fertilizer shipments flowed before the war. While more than 20 commercial ships passed through the strait over the past several days—an improvement from earlier this month when Iran essentially shut down the strait—it’s unclear whether the flow of ships will improve as the war drags on well nearing its seventh week, despite a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran signed last week, and a potential extension on the way.  

As a result, prices for the three major fertilizers farmers use (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), have all increased by double digits, according to Josh Linville, vice president of fertilizer at financial services firm StoneX Group. 

It is the 6-week anniversary of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Fert price comparisons:

NOLA urea – +$230 or 49%
NOLA UAN – +$145 or 38%
Midwest NH3 – +$245 or 32%
NOLA DAP – +$130 or 21%
NOLA potash – +$10 or 3%

…corn – 2-cents or 0.5% higher#sickeningforfarmers

— Josh Linville (@JLinvilleFert) April 10, 2026

Farmers struggle as fertilizer prices rise

These rising fertilizer prices are taking a toll on farmers who for years have struggled with low commodity prices for the two major crops grown in the U.S., corn and soybeans, which have fallen 40% and 37%, respectively, from their highs in 2022. As of this week, the average price of corn was hovering at $4.15 per bushel down from a high of $6.86 a bushel in 2022. The average price of soybean was $10.30 per bushel, down from a high of about $16.40 in 2022, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

The decision to cut back on fertilizer is weighing most on farmers in the South, where only 19% of farmers bought fertilizer ahead of time, according to the Farm Bureau report. The crops these farmers grow—cotton, rice, corn, soybean, and peanuts—rely heavily on added nutrients which leaves them most at risk when fertilizer prices increase, the report claimed.

Farmers’ limited time before planting season ends

The clock is ticking. These farmers have only until the middle of May when planting season ends to decide whether they will scale back on their fertilizer use—which in the long run could lead to lower crop yields—or absorb the elevated costs and potentially lose money on their harvest. Otherwise, some farmers may even choose to sit out the season and potentially add debt through borrowing to make ends meet, Bryan Hansel, chief revenue officer at regenerative agriculture company Holganix, told Fortune.

“This is heart-wrenching for farmers to decide, do I lose money, or do I cut fertilizer, or, like, what do I do?” he said.

To reduce farmers’ demand on fertilizer, one of the best options may be regenerative farming, said Hansel, whose company sells a product, Bio 800, which helps build up the microbiome of topsoil.

Farmers’ overreliance on fertilizers

Decades of American farmers’ overreliance on both fertilizers and quick chemical solutions like pesticides and herbicides have slowly chipped away at soil health for decades. A February report by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that every year, U.S. farmers apply between 30% and 50% more synthetic nitrogen fertilizer than their crops need. These fertilizers cost farmers an estimated $35.8 billion in 2023, according to the USDA.

Heavy fertilizer use has trapped farmers in a vicious cycle. Constantly using more fertilizer than crops require degrades the soil’s natural microbiome, making soil less productive over time, which requires farmers to use more fertilizer to compensate. Reducing fertilizer use would increase crop yields and cut costs for farmers, the study claimed.

And yet, farmers have been hesitant to switch to regenerative farming techniques that, among other adjustments, include putting a stop to over-tilling, which can cause damage to soil structure. Farmers can also plant cover crops, such as grasses or legumes, or rotate the crops grown in each field yearly that can improve the nutrients and organic matter in the soil.

But because these methods often take years to start showing effects—and because American farmers have relied on fertilizers to enable steady crop yields for so long—some are hesitant to sway from the norm, Hansel said.

Rising fertilizer prices may be changing the equation: Demand for Holganix’s Bio 800, which serves as a sort of probiotic for topsoil, has doubled compared to last year, Hansel said, partly because it can help reduce fertilizer needs in a shorter time compared to other regenerative farming methods.

While most farms use at least one regenerative farming method, such as reducing tilling, only about 1.5% of the more than 300 million acres dedicated to row crops in the U.S. are farmed fully regeneratively, according to Regenerative Farmers of America.

Much of the reason why can be explained by the fact that for regenerative farming to work, farmers have to reduce the amount of fertilizer they use, a distressing change for some given the common belief reducing fertilizer brings lower crop yields, Hansel said. 

However, if fertilizer costs continue to rise, farmers may have no better alternative. 

“Nature is no longer on our side, helping us raise these crops,” Hansel said. “It’s chemistry that something has raised these crops. We need to reverse that.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com