PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) – Many farmers in the United States, including those in Mississippi, are getting ready for the spring planting season.
But those plans could be on hold as the war with Iran continues.
“We’re price-takers, not price-makers,” said Jeff Easterling, a long-time farmer and president of the South Mississippi Farmers Bureau. “We can’t just say we’re going to move our costs up to match our input costs.”
The war has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for not only oil and gas, but also fertilizers.
“Now, a lot of this stuff is drawn from overseas, and we’re not competing on a localized market,” Easterling said. “It’s a global market.”
Easterling shared that many local farmers utilize nitrogen-based fertilizers, like urea, for their crops.
Over the past month, the price per ton for that fertilizer has increased by around $100 at the Port of New Orleans.
“A few people have had the ability to book fertilizer early, and a few of them have,” Easterling said. “Myself, I booked a little early.”
Mississippi’s Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson said state leaders are aware of the closure’s potential global implications.
“There are workarounds, but it is going to take time to get those workarounds to help,” Gipson said.
Gipson said they’re working with the Trump administration to enhance Mississippi’s domestic output.
“It’s only been a year or so that these fertilizer domestic production efforts have been ramped up,” said Gipson.
As tensions continue, Easterling said some local farmers are now having to decide which crops are worth the investment.
“We hear some talk of people swapping over from corn to soybeans just because soybeans take less nitrogen to grow,” Easterling said.
It’s still unclear what the long-term impact of the closure will be.
But Easterling said he doesn’t see a reason for consumers to get worried any time soon.
“We’re going to stay on the forefront and do what we do,” Easterling said. “They have been through tougher times than this.”
Gipson said he’s heard from the Trump administration that the closure could be over within the next few weeks.
Gipson said Mississippi is on board with the country seeing the war through to the end.
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