Iowa farmers make push to break up what they call fertilizer monopoly

Farmers in Iowa get angry about the rising cost of fertilizer drastically impacting their business. They're certainly not alone. Radio Iowa reports farmers brought their complaints to U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden on a recent trip to the state. They want the government to do something about what they call a monopoly in the fertilizer industry. Farmers say the price they pay for anhydrous ammonia increased by 19 percent, while the prices for corn and soybeans held steady. They point to a sharp increase of 220 percent in bankruptcies among farms over the last six years.

The Strait of Hormuz is a key waterway for transporting fertilizer that's been choked off during the war with Iran. What do you think the federal government can or should do to help farmers? Host Jim Niedelman got into the issues with Scott County Democratic party chair Kay Pence
and former Rock Island County Republican party chair Bill Bloom.

"The free market works best when it has a lot of suppliers. It generates a lot of innovation," Bloom said. "The number of suppliers has gradually dwindled until we only have a few."

"This isn't just a price gouging with a few bad actors in a few markets," Pence said. "These cases take years to build and prosecute. This isn't going to be a quick and easy fix."

To hear more, click on the video above.

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