Senator John Hoeven (R.-N.D.), ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, joined Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) in urging the Biden administration to take immediate action to lower the cost of fertilizer for American farmers. This letter comes as ag producers head into spring planting facing record-high prices for fertilizer, a primary input and major expense for producers across the country. The senators outlined the direct impact this will have on the food supply chain, which is further reflected in rising restaurant and grocery store prices.
In addition to Hoeven and Hagerty, the letter was signed by Senators John Boozman (R-Ark.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Roger Marshall (R-Kans.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), John Kennedy (R-La.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.).
"We are therefore urging your administration to review all available options to lower the cost of fertilizer, including but not limited to: eliminating the cross-border vaccine mandate for transporters of essential commerce; engaging stakeholders to prevent a Canadian Pacific Railway strike; ensuring agricultural minerals like phosphate and potash are part of the Department of the Interior's List of Critical Minerals; increasing U.S. gas production; and approving pending export permits at the Department of Energy for Liquefied Natural Gas," the senators wrote.
Categories: North Dakota, Crops