Farmers Grow Desperate as Fertilizer and Energy Costs Grow

Farmers across the Midwest are reported to be facing the worst agricultural downturn since the 1980s as rising energy and fertilizer prices continue to bite due to the Iran war.

Axios reports, “Mark Mueller—a northeast Iowa farmer and president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association—tells Axios that the current landscape is more challenging than at any time since the 1980s farm crisis, when interest rates soared and exports plunged, triggering agricultural bank failures.”

“There’s going to be fewer farmers next year than there is this year,” Mueller told the outlet.

The growing crisis is caused by continuing increases in energy and fertilizer prices, shortages, disruptions to export markets and also unfavorable weather.

U.S. Farm Bankruptcies Surge +46% as Fertilizer Costs Squeeze Farmers:

The American Farm Bureau Federation reported 315 Chapter 12 bankruptcy filings in 2025, up from 216 in 2024 and the third consecutive annual increase.

The Midwest got hit hardest with 121 filings, a +70%… pic.twitter.com/dRhRbrPL9B

— Hedgeye (@Hedgeye) April 27, 2026

“What makes this moment particularly hard is that farmers can’t pivot quickly,” says Cornell University agricultural economist Wendong Zhang.

“Farmers have some tools, but none are quick fixes.”

In Ohio, for example, a farmer said his fuel bills have almost doubled, and container costs have risen 30%.

Iowa farmers are facing around a 50% decrease in soybean prices due to a reduction in demand from China.

According to the America Farm Bureau Federation, 70% of American farmers can’t afford the fertilizer they need.

Consumers are seeing the knock-on effects at the store, as the price of food, especially beef, rises.

The US cattle herd is at its lowest number for decades, which has helped drive the price of ground beef up 19% over the last year.

Many lower-income households have also lost SNAP food-stamp benefits, leaving them “doubly exposed.”

At the end of last month, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins unveiled a plan for farm relief that includes $900 million in grant funding for fertilizer companies, streamlining of the permit process and support for new legislation to lower fertilizer costs.

President Trump also announced an $11 billion “bridge payments” for farmers of row crops, to help them deal with rising costs and lower prices for their products.

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