By Ryan Hanrahan
Reuters’ Leah Douglas reported late last week that “the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust division will work with the Department of Agriculture to look closely at the rising cost of agricultural inputs like fertilizer and seeds under a memorandum of understanding signed on Thursday, said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.”
“The goal of the joint effort is to ‘protect American farmers and ranchers from the burdens imposed by high and volatile input costs, such as feed, fertilizer, fuel, seed, equipment and other essential goods,’ Rollins said at the Ag Outlook Forum in Kansas City, Missouri,” according to Douglas’s reporting. “The DOJ will scrutinize competitive conditions in the agricultural marketplace, including antitrust enforcement that promotes free market competition, Rollins said.”
“Rollins previously said the USDA is examining high fertilizer costs and exploring options for farmer relief,” Douglas reported.
Bloomberg’s Erin Ailworth reported that “the cost of key inputs such as fertilizers and tractors have been on the rise this year, partly because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. That has squeezed farmers at a time when they are also dealing with low crop prices and China’s shift away from American soybeans.”
Source : illinois.edu