Marshall: Lowering input costs act will help farmers
U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-KS, said bipartisan legislation can help farmers facing high fertilizer costs.
Marshall delivered remarks at a press conference hosted by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins (both are pictured at top) on April 28. Marshall was joined by other members of the Trump administration and colleagues in Congress to highlight the Trump administration and Congress’ efforts to lower fertilizer prices.
Sen. Marshall highlighted his Lowering Input Costs for American Farmers Act, legislation to lower the cost of fertilizer for American farmers. The bill would eliminate tariffs and countervailing duties on phosphate fertilizer imports from Morocco, delivering direct relief to American farmers facing rising input costs.
“The administration has done its job, and now it’s time for Congress to do our job. We’re dropping a bill today, it’s called the Lowering Input Costs for American Farmers Act. What this bill does is eliminate the countervailing duties on Morocco’s phosphate,” Marshall said. “This would lower the cost of phosphate fertilizer by more than 20%. Those numbers are from Texas A&M. It’ll lower the cost of phosphate fertilizer by more than 20%, that’s $150 per ton, and that’s real money when it comes to a Kansas farmer. But we need more than that, and we’ve also introduced a package of fertilizer bills as well.”
Marshall agreed with Rollins that fertilizer costs started to rise when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, when fertilizer prices jumped 50% and affected other non-nitrogen fertilizer products. About 20 to 25% of nitrogen fertilizer is produced in Russia, and Belarus accounts for about 35% of the world’s potash exports.
“We have a package of five bills, they’re bipartisan bills, and they work together to lower farmers’ fertilizer costs by requiring price transparency and market research, promoting domestic production and competition and reducing regulatory barriers. They also create pathways for one of my favorite areas, for biostimulants as lower-cost alternatives. And I say it’s bipartisan—we have leadership from Sens. (John) Thune, (Amy) Klobuchar, (Chuck) Grassley, (Tammy) Baldwin, (Joni) Ernst, (Raphael) Warnock, (Cindy) Hyde-Smith and (Alex) Padilla, in addition to (John) Hoeven’s bill.”
Marshall added Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Sen. John Boozman plans to have a hearing on the legislation.
This legislation is supported by the National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cotton Council, USA Rice, Sorghum Growers and the National Association of Wheat Growers.
“NAWG appreciates Sen. Marshall’s leadership on legislation to remove countervailing duties on Moroccan phosphate fertilizer,” said Sam Kieffer, NAWG CEO. “Wheat growers have borne nearly $1 billion in additional costs from these duties, and this bill would help restore access to a critical input and provide needed relief to farmers.”
