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Farmers Spill Fertilizer Woes to USDA
12 Sep
Summary
- USDA seeks farmer accounts of fertilizer industry issues.
- Farmers share experiences of alleged unfair pricing and intimidation.
- New platform allows anonymous submission of fertilizer industry evidence.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden recently visited Iowa to gather testimony from farmers nationwide. The objective is to understand their experiences with consolidation and pricing issues in the fertilizer sector. Vaden emphasized that numerous individual farmer accounts are vital for the ongoing Federal Trade Commission investigation into potential unfair pricing and anti-competitive practices.
Farmers can now submit their evidence anonymously through SaveFamilyFarms.US, a platform designed to protect them from potential retaliation. This initiative emerged from an event hosted by the Iowa Corn Growers Association, which highlighted concerns about the fertilizer industry's impact on farmers' livelihoods. Several farmers and industry representatives shared their struggles.
Linda Thrasher, co-founder of Greenfield Nitrogen, detailed a decade-long effort to establish a regional anhydrous ammonia facility, hampered by retailers' fear of being blackballed by major suppliers. Keith Busch of ClearCost shared instances where fertilizer shipments to Canada were allegedly delayed to control demand, and established companies have purportedly worked to suppress prices to deter new entrants.
