USDA announced this past week additional support to American farmers addressing the rising cost of fertilizers. The agency will make available $250 million through a new grant program intended to support and spur competition domestically. USDA will launch a public inquiry seeking information on seeds and ag inputs, fertilizer and retail markets.

U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and continued pandemic-related supply chain disruptions show how critical it is to invest in agricultural supply chain links here at home. Currently, the U.S. is a major importer and dependent on foreign fertilizer and is the second or third top importer for each of the three major components of fertilizer. Top fertilizer producers include China, Russia, Canada, Morocco and Belarus. The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) will provide the funds for the program.

Read more on USDA’s domestic fertilizer pursuit here.