By Ryan Hanrahan
Politico’s Grace Yarrow reported that “the American Farm Bureau Federation is calling on President Donald Trump to dampen the Iran war’s shocks to the market for critical agricultural supplies — which are landing as farmers confront major economic headwinds.”
“Military action in the Middle East has disrupted fertilizer shipments and energy markets just ahead of American farmers’ spring planting season, the farm bureau’s president, Zippy Duvall, warned in a letter to Trump on Monday,” Yarrow reported. “‘It really is a national security issue,’ Duvall told reporters. ‘Our farmers across the country are heading into spring planting, and they’re facing one of the toughest economic environments that we’ve seen in decades.'”
“The farm bureau represents nearly 6 million families and is a key Trump ally in the agriculture industry,” Yarrow reported. “But the group warned that the Trump administration risks provoking even more financial uncertainty for farmers if it fails to prioritize the delivery of key products.”
Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported that “AFBF on Monday called on President Donald Trump to protect fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and suspend countervailing duties on imported fertilizer.”
“Duvall warned the war could lead to food-inflation spikes comparable to those seen in 2022. Acting quickly to avoid disruptions in fertilizer supplies will help prevent farmers from facing additional financial strain, he explained,” according to Clayton’s reporting. “‘We are deeply concerned that failure to act could lead to disruptions to the food supply chain not seen since 2022 when food price inflation reached 40-year highs,’ Duvall wrote in the letter to Trump.”
Source : illinois.edu