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.<\/p>\n
Farmers in Missouri had a difficult choice to make earlier this year and will have to make it again for the fall \u2014 is buying fertilizer worth it?<\/p>\n
Trevor Thieman\u2019s family has farmed land in Webster County for 125 years. When fertilizer prices spiked this spring, he made a hard call.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got rid of cows, so we wouldn\u2019t have to rely on buying fertilizer,\u201d Thieman said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
According to the United Nations, about one-third of the world\u2019s seaborne fertilizer supply passes through that waterway.<\/p>\n
Thieman said fertilizer doesn\u2019t just help the hay crop \u2014 it can keep cows fed longer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 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\u2019s really recommended, that you do buy the fertilizer to help stretch that a little bit longer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said it comes down to knowing what your ground needs and what you can afford.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want to run our land into the ground because then you\u2019re not only missing fertilizer, but you\u2019re 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?\u201d Thieman said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n