Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said she is looking to bring back a program created by the Biden administration to increase domestic fertilizer production, despite earlier this month remarking that most farmers would not be affected by rising fertilizer costs from the Iran war.
Rollins is eyeing the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program, designed under former President Joe Biden, which allocates funds to small- and mid-sized fertilizer production facilities through five-year grants to increase competition and bring down agricultural costs.
Since the start of the war, Iran has blocked ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for not only oil but also fertilizer, sending costs upward for farmers.
It is unclear when the strait will open, as Iran reportedly began laying naval mines in the waterway, a move that prompted President Donald Trump to threaten military action to destroy any boats laying the underwater explosives.
Rollins previously said roughly 80% of farmers would not be affected by the price increase because they still have fertilizer from last fall. She said her department is working on a plan to ensure the other 20% of farmers get the supplies they need without draining their pockets.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Rollins said that just because the program was created under Biden doesn’t discredit the fact that it could help farmers.
“We don’t care whose idea it was, if it was a good idea, or at least part of a good idea; we’re going to take that and build on it,” she said.
The Biden administration invested roughly $900 million in the program through the Commodity Credit Corporation, and it also helped increase production of non-fossil-fuel-derived fertilizers, such as chicken litter and compost.
Rollins is slated to appear in Missouri on Friday and deliver remarks on fertilizer investments. She said the Agriculture Department is “working literally around the clock” to rein in fertilizer costs.
DTN, a farming technology company, tracks the cost of fertilizer and released data showing that costs continued on an upward trend in April. For example, nitrogen-based fertilizer urea cost 27% higher than in March.
NO ‘RADICALS’ OR ‘MODERATES’ IN IRANIAN LEADERSHIP, GHALIBAF RESPONDS TO TRUMP
The Trump administration initiated efforts to combat rising costs before the conflict in Iran started. Trump framed the issue as the “fertilizer monopoly price gouging” U.S. farmers.
Trump signed an executive order targeting food and agriculture monopolies in December 2025, and the Department of Justice launched an investigation into fertilizer companies’ alleged anti-competitive practices.