Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller announced Iowa State University agriculture economist John Crespi, director of ISU’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, will conduct an economic summary of fertilizer markets and the rapid prices increases. The study came after the Iowa Corn Growers Association requested Miller investigate the fertilizer price increases. He discussed the investigation with eight different states and USDA. Without naming the states, Miller said the states were primarily, but not exclusively, in the Midwest.
Miller sent letters to the CEOs of the major fertilizer manufacturers: Mosaic, Nutrien, CF Industries, Koch Industries, and OCI N.V. (owner of Iowa Fertilizer Co.) The letters request the manufacturers provide their reasons for the price increases.
He did not give a timeline for the study to be completed but understood it needed to be done quickly. Any possible future actions will depend on what the study finds. Miller was aware of the previous research on fertilizer prices by Texas A&M University that noted generally higher fertilizer prices follow years of higher farmer income.
