Trump’s War of Choice is Making Things Even More Expensive for American Farmers at the Worst Possible Time 

Fertilizer costs are up nearly 50% since Trump’s war of choice closed the Strait of Hormuz, shutting off access to one-third of the world’s nitrogen supply

Higher costs get passed down to American consumers too, spiking grocery bills in the middle of an affordability crisis 

Washington, DC – American farmers were already struggling thanks to Trump’s ridiculous trade wars, but now things are looking even worse as his war of choice in Iran sends the cost of fertilizer through the roof in the middle of planting season. In 2025, the number of farms filing for Chapter 12 bankruptcy surged by 46% across the country and by almost 70% in the Midwest and Southeast, sending warning signs to Republicans in states that Trump handily won in 2024 ahead of the 2026 midterms. 

Those costs don’t just impact farmers, American consumers will also see their grocery bills climb thanks to Trump’s war. The rising costs of fertilizer, as well as increased costs for packaging and transportation, will make everything from hamburgers to ice cream more expensive. 

NPR: The rising cost of fertilizer and fuel prices is pushing some farmers to the brink

COMO, Miss. – On a bright, dry Friday morning in Panola County in the Mississippi Delta, Sledge Taylor did the same thing he’s done every morning for the last 53 years — the same thing his father did every morning, and his father before him. He walked his fields…

Normally, this is when Taylor would use a 20-inch diameter steel disk to slice the soil open beside the plants and add nitrogen fertilizer.

“But I may not do it this year,” he said, “because of the price of nitrogen and the low price of corn.”

Nitrogen is a critical fertilizer for farmers. About one-third of the world’s supply flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently closed amid the US-Israeli war with Iran. It’s the same with roughly 20% of global fuel.

Taylor has resorted to buying diesel fuel in small batches — “hand to mouth” as he calls it. He has storage capacity for more than 20,000 gallons on the farm. Right now, he’s sitting on about 1,000.

“Sometimes we know that we’ve only got two weeks of fuel,” he said.

The war couldn’t have come at a worse time. It’s spring — planting season — when Delta farmers are burning the most fuel and spending the most on fertilizer.

And they were already struggling.

The Trump administration’s tariffs, and other countries’ retaliatory measures that followed have gutted the export markets Delta farmers depend on, leading to major losses for small farmers like Taylor who is now also grappling with rising costs caused by a war thousands of miles away…