SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – The war in Iran is hitting Missouri farmers as oil, natural gas, and fertilizer shipments stall in the Strait of Hormuz. Local growers are facing soaring prices and tough choices about how much they can afford to plant.
Farmers in Missouri had a difficult choice to make earlier this year and will have to make it again for the fall — is buying fertilizer worth it?
Trevor Thieman’s family has farmed land in Webster County for 125 years. When fertilizer prices spiked this spring, he made a hard call.
“We got rid of cows, so we wouldn’t have to rely on buying fertilizer,” Thieman said.
Fertilizer prices jumped sharply after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February. It triggered a conflict that shut down commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the United Nations, about one-third of the world’s seaborne fertilizer supply passes through that waterway.
Thieman said fertilizer doesn’t just help the hay crop — it can keep cows fed longer.
“It’s about making the most of the ground that you are farming. So you just got to make sure that if you are going to graze more than what’s really recommended, that you do buy the fertilizer to help stretch that a little bit longer,” he said.
He said it comes down to knowing what your ground needs and what you can afford.
“We don’t want to run our land into the ground because then you’re not only missing fertilizer, but you’re missing a lot of things. I mean, soil samples are huge. So you just got to kind of find a good balance of, can I afford not to fertilize?” Thieman said.
With fall approaching, that question matters more than ever. Fall fertilizing can help crops survive the winter, but for farmers already stretched thin, every dollar counts.
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