A coalition of farm groups is sponsoring a website where farmers can anonymously explain the difficulties they’ve had in buying fertilizer.
Over 170 farmers from 13 states were in Ogden Friday to make public statements in front of a top USDA official who used to be a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade. USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden told the crowd it will be hard for “sophisticated lawyers” representing the fertilizer industry to explain away a pattern if it’s documented from hundreds of farmers’ stories.) “We all know something hasn’t been right in the fertilizer market,” Vaden said. “We all know that it’s not really a free market.”
Vaden said he understands some farmers and businesses may fear retaliation for sharing their stories and he encouraged farmers to use the anonymous route, which is available on the SaveFamilyFarms.US website. “What’s important is the information and the facts, not necessarily the name attached to it,” Vaden said. “…These facts that you provide, while you may see them as an individual instance, they help build a case which becomes actionable under the antitrust laws.”
Mark Muench, who raises corn and soybeans, hosted the event on his family farm north of Ogden. He said the cost of fertilizer is causing many producers to reach a breaking point. “It’s cost my family hundreds of thousands in extra expenses some years,” Muench said. “And in the last 20 years, it’s cost us multiple millions.”
John Settlemyer, a farmer from western Ohio, used the word “broken” to describe the fertilizer market. “Farm bankruptcies are on the rise, up 220% here in Iowa,” he said. “All the while, fertilizer monopolies have lined their pockets, profiting on the livelihood of the American farmer.”
The Iowa Corn Growers Association organized Friday’s gathering. Steve Kuiper, the group’s president, said “it’s clear the USDA sees the market collusion and unfairness” in the fertilizer industry and farmers will keep gathering evidence and push for action “until farmers have access to a fair and free market.”
(Additional reporting by Brent Barnett, Brownfield Ag News)