The Justice Department has launched an investigation into antitrust practices by major fertilizer producers, according to a report from Bloomberg. That investigation reportedly targets CF Industry Holdings, Nutrient, The Mosaic Co., Koch Inc. and Yara International. Together, those companies control the vast majority of the U.S. nitrogen, potash and phosphate markets.
While few specifics of the antitrust case are known, this appears to be the next step in an initiative announced last year to address rising farmer input costs.
On Sept. 25, USDA and the Department of Justice signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate “with respect to strengthening competition for agricultural inputs.” During remarks at an event in Kansas City, Kan., that day, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said it was a joint commitment from both agencies to protect farmers and ranchers from the burdens imposed by high and volatile input costs for things like feed, fertilizer, fuel, seed, equipment and other essential goods.
“The antitrust division of DOJ will work hand in hand with USDA, effective immediately, to take a hard look and scrutinize competitive conditions in the agricultural marketplace, including antitrust enforcement that promised free market competition,” Rollins said in September. “Farmers have enough challenges to deal with — sky-high input prices should not be one of them.”
On Dec. 6, President Donald Trump announced the creation of a task force to look into security risks caused by price fixing and anticompetitive behavior in the food supply chain. That task force has yet to release any findings.
Corn farmers sound alarm
In a March 10 letter to Rollins and Attorney General Pam Bondi, leaders from 14 state corn grower associations called for a formal status report into the investigation of fertilizer pricing and market concentration. The corn leaders say they decided to write as a unified coalition after previous letters from individual member organizations, including Iowa and Texas, were never answered.
“Since those initial letters were sent, the situation facing our members has not improved; rather, it has worsened,” the 14 state leaders said. “As we enter the heart of the 2026 planting season, the cost-income squeeze on American farmers has intensified. Crop prices remain depressed, while the costs of essential nutrients continue to reflect a market distorted by excessive concentration.”
In their letter, the corn growers noted that recent dates show the price of DAP fertilizer at $851 per ton, a $108 increase from a year ago. MAP fertilizer stands at $879 per ton, a $71 increase. And potash has gone up $52.3 per ton to $488. Overall corn production costs are projected to increase an additional 4% this year.
Fertilizer prices continue to rise as the ongoing conflict in Iran threatens production and key shipping corridors in the Middle East.
In their letter, corn growers point out that USDA has publicly identified a “duopoly” in the fertilizer markets and described the level of concentration in those markets as “unacceptable."
“Secretary Rollins has warned of ‘vulnerabilities to price-fixing in the industry,'” the corn growers said. “When the very agency tasked with championing America’s farmers sounds this alarm, the urgency for action is beyond dispute.”
The letter was signed by state leaders from Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas.
A USDA spokesperson declined an interview request for this story, referring all questions about the antitrust investigation to the Department of Justice. DOJ officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment.