Since the U.S. led war in Iran began in February, prices at the pump have surged. A gallon of gas now averages over $3.75 in Ohio.
But for farmers on the brink of the spring planting season, dishing out dollars for diesel isn’t their only concern.
Fertilizer costs are on the rise too.
Ty Higgins is the general manager for the Ohio Country Journal and Ohio Ag Net. He formerly worked as the senior director of communications and media relations for the Ohio Farm Bureau.
He joined the Ohio Newsroom to discuss how farmers are coping ahead of the planting season.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
On how an overseas conflict impacts fertilizer prices in Ohio
“It really just adds insult to injury from what's happening already with the farm economy. We've seen lower commodity prices for a few years now. Input costs have been high over the last three or four years, and in that input category comes fertilizer, particularly something called 28, which is used to grow corn here in Ohio and across the Midwest. About 20-25% of 28 comes from that part of the world we're seeing that conflict in right now — the Strait of Hormuz. And so it's put a lot of questions, not just in the minds of farmers, but in the mind of ag retailers across the state that provide that resource to farmers to grow corn. And it's really changed the dynamic to some extent as to how this planting season will look here in 2026.”
On how much fertilizer prices have increased
“Things are so difficult right now in the fertilizer industry that some farmers can't even get a price for fertilizer, let alone get the fertilizer that they need. The retailers — those ones that have or will be getting fertilizer hopefully soon for farmers — simply don't know what the markets are going to do. They don't know what availability looks like. And of course that impacts the price at the end of the day for the ag retailers. So at this point, all I can say is that the farmers that are getting fertilizer, they're getting sticker shock because of the price of that fertilizer. But they need it in order to grow a successful crop.”
"Farmers that are getting fertilizer, they're getting sticker shock because of the price of that fertilizer. But they need it in order to grow a successful crop.”Ty Higgins, Ag Net Communications
On how farmers are handling rising costs
“There's technology out there to help farmers better utilize nitrogen and 28 and fertilizers in general. It's called variable rate technology. And so this equipment that we plant with, with the tractors and the planters behind them, have technology that can tell farmers where some nutrients and fertilizer may be needed more than others. It will vary the rate of application depending on how that field looks to the computer screen and the data that farmers get from soil testing. So that's one way, absolutely.
“Now, are farmers changing their game plan for the planting season? They are. In Ohio, maybe not so much, but if you get into the ‘I’ states and up to Minnesota, we found out earlier this week from USDA that farmers are going to start changing their mind because they don't have fertilizer to grow corn. They may be switching those acres over to soybeans. And I think we're going to see that in Ohio too, to some extent, but we really aren't getting that data from USDA for another couple of weeks that will show the impact of the war in Iran.”
On impacts to consumers
“It always takes a little bit of time to get to the consumer level. And that diesel fuel price will get to us quicker than anything else. I saw diesel for $5.40 in south central Ohio yesterday. That's just not sustainable for farmers. It takes diesel to plant the crop, it takes diesel to harvest the crop, but it also takes diesel to get our food from one location to the next and finally to the grocery store. There's a big process that goes into getting food from point A to point B and so on. It all takes diesel fuel. And so there will be a time sooner rather than later that diesel will impact our food prices more than anything else. But if we continue to see these higher inputs and lower commodity prices, we're going to see it for a long time down the road as well.”
