KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A new bi-partisan bill hopes to help farmers make informed decisions amid the ongoing war with Iran.
The Middle East facilitates 10% to 25% of all global fertilizer trade. With the war, local farmers are struggling with high input costs of necessary resources that make their operations run.
On Monday, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids announced the “Fertilizer Transparency Act” aimed to help ease the burden of high fuel and fertilizer prices on farmers.
It would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish a mandatory reporting program that outlines fertilizer prices and the amount sold every week, not just every year.
The USDA currently publishes the data annually on a voluntary basis.
“I hope this is a bill that we can see movement on quickly, because this is a real crisis that our farmers are dealing with,” said Davids. “Farmers are just operating in the dark. And having access to more up-to-date pricing data, and having the kind of transparency that this is aimed at providing, can help them manage the risk and stay competitive.”
Davids believes the USDA has the expertise, capacity and support to manage the weekly fertilizer price report. KSHB 41 asked her about the potential of unintended consequences that may arise from making this type of data public.
“You can never say that for sure there’s not gonna be unintended consequences" Davids said. But, having the folks that have come together to try to address this issue makes me feel that much more comfortable and confident that we really have been able to think through as many of those factors as possible."
Davids hopes this bi-partisan bill will get the support of both chambers soon, ultimately providing farmers some relief and stability.
“I have faith in the USDA that they’ll be able to perform when we get this bill across the finish line,” said Davids.
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