Last week, Iowa Senator Joni Ernst met with local and state Ag leaders near Cedar Rapids to hear about their concerns and challenges with the current economic situation in agriculture. A lot of the concern was centered around input costs, mainly fertilizers.
Senator Ernst said that there was a good response from all who attended, and she came away with a lot of input on what needs to be addressed.
Senator Ernst said that it is going to take initiative from the Federal Government to help ease the situation. However, she didn?t express any confidence in the Biden Administration to follow through on what is needed.
When asked to expound on her claims that the administration won?t be supportive to the needs of farmers in getting fertilizer costs down, Senator Ernst responded that the hurdles are getting permits for fertilizer plants in the United States. She cited one plant in Michigan that is now in its third administration, still waiting for the permits process to be completed so it can get built and online.
She also talked about options that could come from wastewater facilities in cities to develop fertilizer sources from human waste and help remove the burden of that disposal.
Ernst called on the Administration to help plants and processes like these get their permit process done so they can help alleviate the strain on fertilizer costs. Much of our supply comes from the warring Black Sea region.
