Farmers Are Squeezed. Now the DOJ Is Watching.

DOJ and USDA probe fertilizer price-fixing as farmer input costs hit crisis levels ahead of planting season

7 May 2026

Federal prosecutors and agriculture regulators are moving against the US fertilizer industry, alleging that dominant suppliers conspired to keep prices artificially high across several nutrient categories for years. Two civil lawsuits filed in March 2026 named leading companies. The Department of Justice and the Department of Agriculture are now jointly examining whether market concentration has suppressed competition.

The inquiry carries political weight. At an April 16 congressional hearing, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins pointed to structural failure at the top of the supply chain.

"A handful of companies have basically taken over the market in all of the inputs." – Brooke Rollins, US Agriculture Secretary, April 2026

Rollins has since met with the acting attorney general and pledged direct engagement with fertilizer executives. USDA issued a formal rebuke of Mosaic, accusing the company of cutting phosphate output in Brazil while domestic supply remained tight.

The numbers are stark. Urea is trading at $858 per ton, roughly 49 per cent above year-ago levels. Anhydrous ammonia has reached $1,114 per ton. A survey of 5,700 farmers by the American Farm Bureau Federation found seven in ten unable to afford full fertilizer application this season, with rice, cotton and peanut growers among the worst affected.

Washington's response has been broad. More than $1.5bn in Department of Energy financing has been committed to an ammonia project in Indiana. Permitting for new production facilities is being accelerated through the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. Officials project domestic nitrogen output could rise more than 30 per cent within two years, with phosphate potentially more than doubling.

The timeline, however, does not match the urgency. New facilities take at least 12 to 18 months to come online. Farmers making planting decisions now will see none of this relief before the current season closes. The shift in Washington's position offers a signal of intent. The harvest that follows will judge whether it amounted to more.