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| Economy |
| U.S. farmers struggling with high price of fuel, fertilizer as bankruptcies rise |
| 2026-05-11 |
| [Just The News] As Congress continues working on the long-overdue federal farm bill, American farmers entering planting season are facing a grim financial landscape. Due to the U.S.-Iran conflict and the Trump administration’s tariffs, American farmers are getting slapped with higher operational costs, which not only raise the cost of consumer goods but also threaten small farmers’ already fragile financial solvency. The U.S. lost more than 156,000 farms between 2017 and 2025, according to 2026 U.S. Census data. From 2024 to 2025 alone, farm bankruptcy filings jumped by 46%, the Farm Bureau reported. "Uncertainty around the availability and price of fertilizers and energy is already influencing decisions on input use, crop management, and investment, with direct consequences for yields and future supply," the National Farmers Union warned in April. "Fertilizer costs have risen sharply since the beginning of the crisis, while crop prices have remained largely stable — a combination that is squeezing farm margins at historically poor levels, leaving farmers with limited capacity to absorb further shocks." Before hostilities in Iran began, President Donald Trump’s tariffs on agricultural inputs including farm machinery, agricultural chemicals, and fertilizer squeezed the country's agricultural sector, though the Trump administration did attempt to offset some of the consequences by distributing $12 billion in one-time bridge payments to American farmers. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2026-05-11 07:16 |