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Nationwide Survey: Most Farmers Can't Afford Fertilizer
Author: Rebecca Colnar, Montana Farm Bureau communications specialist

Nationwide Survey: Most Farmers Can't Afford Fertilizer

Rebecca Colnar

Montana Farm Bureau Communications Specialist

An overwhelming majority of America’s farmers who responded to a nationwide survey say they cannot afford to purchase enough fertilizer to get them through the year. The percentage who pre-purchased fertilizer varies significantly by region.

Conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation April 3-11, the survey shows 70% of respondents say fertilizer is so expensive that they will not be able to buy all the fertilizer they need.

The majority (58%) of Montana farmers who responded to the survey indicated that they cannot afford all of the fertilizer they need for this year's crop. Furthermore, a staggering 88% of Montana farmers said that their farm's financial condition is either experiencing the same or worse financial condition it experienced in 2025.

Montana Farm Bureau President Cyndi Johnson, a Conrad wheat farmer, added, “With the value of our commodities stuck at 1980 prices and the cost of inputs escalating to record highs, we’ll have to make hard choices about what to plant, how much to plant or whether we just sit this spring out. The results of this survey tell me we aren’t alone in Montana, and the rest of the nation is feeling the same pinch.”

More than 5,700 farmers, both Farm Bureau members and non-members, from every state and Puerto Rico took the survey. Farm Bureau economists analyzed the results in the latest Market Intel Report.

The analysis reveals that almost 8 in 10 farmers in the southern U.S. say they can’t afford all needed supplies this year, followed by the Northeast and West at 69% and 66%, respectively, compared to 48% of the farmers in the Midwest. Even with higher pre-booking rates, almost one in three Midwestern farmers still report entering the season without securing all their fertilizer needs.

The conflict in the Middle East sent fertilizer and fuel prices soaring. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is keeping critical fertilizer supplies and crude oil from reaching global markets, putting a squeeze on supplies around the world.

“Spring planting decisions depend heavily on access to fertilizer and diesel fuel, both of which have been impacted by geopolitical risks that have disrupted global markets,” the Market Intel states. “Since the escalation of tensions in the Middle East, nitrogen fertilizer prices have risen more than 30%, while combined fuel and fertilizer costs have increased roughly 20% to 40%. Urea prices have increased by 47% since the end of February, marking the largest month-to-month percentage increase in the price of urea. These increases are occurring when many producers were already facing tight margins for many consecutive years.”

Many of the farmers surveyed said they will forego applying fertilizer this spring in hopes that prices will return to an affordable level later in the growing season.

Get more survey results and read the full Market Intel at fb.org/market-intel.

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