04/17/2026
Message from our LA Farm Bureau President:
“Thank you to the American Farm Bureau Federation for amplifying the voices of Louisiana’s farmers and ranchers. This survey brings to light what we’ve been hearing across this state for the last several years; times are tough in agriculture and the cost of inputs are a big reason why.
I’m not surprised that only 19% of my fellow farmers in the South had their fertilizer booked in advance. Many of them didn’t know whether or not they would receive a crop loan, period. For those with a line of credit, they weren’t sure whether they were planting corn, soybeans, rice or cotton because they all pencil out with negative returns. That’s what happens when commodity prices are low, input costs are high and there isn’t updated farm policy from a new, five-year farm bill.
This survey also brings to light the sharp increase in fertilizer prices over the last few weeks. We’re paying 30% more for anhydrous ammonia, 47% more for urea, and then when we go to apply those fertilizers, we’re paying 46% more for the diesel to run the tractor. Because of those increases, 78% of farmers in the South say they will not be able to afford all of the fertilizer they need for their crops. That percentage is higher for rice farmers, like me.
President Donald Trump said he would investigate any price gouging in those markets. I know he’s a man of action and will follow through on that. We are counting on he and Secretary Rollins to do so.
I think the take home message from the American Farm Bureau’s survey is that this is what we’re seeing, boots on the ground, on farms across Louisiana. We need the folks in Washington, D.C. to understand this problem is real and it’s a real threat to our food security and our national security.”
Richard Fontenot
Louisiana Farm Bureau President
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. A survey conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation shows 70% of respondents say fertilizer is so expensive that they will not be able to buy all the fertilizer they need.
Read the full breakdown from American Farm Bureau economists in the latest Market Intel:
📰 https://bit.ly/48FX8Bp