CHICAGO— Six months after President Donald Trump started the war in Iran, Governor JB Pritzker today called on the Trump administration to provide immediate relief from skyrocketing fertilizer costs that are squeezing Illinois farmers and raising grocery prices for working families across the country.
Governor Pritzker urged President Trump to suspend federal import taxes on the nitrogen-based fertilizers Illinois corn farmers rely on to grow their crops. The Governor also called for an existing suspension on certain phosphate fertilizer imports to be extended through June 30, 2027.
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“Six months into Donald Trump’s war in Iran, Illinois farmers and families are being forced to pay the price,” Governor JB Pritzker wrote. “The cost of nitrogen fertilizer has increased by 36 percent, leaving farmers with impossible decisions about what they can afford to plant and threatening higher prices for working families at the grocery store. You created this crisis, and you must act now to give farmers the relief they need.”
Illinois is the second largest corn-producing states, and nitrogen fertilizer is one of the largest input costs for corn growers. According to University of Illinois economists compared to last year the price of:
- nitrogen fertilizer anhydrous ammonia has climbed from $828 per ton to $1,123 per ton compared—a 36 percent increase.
- Urea Ammonium Nitrate (UAN) rising to $543 a ton from $436 a ton – a 25 percent increase.
The rising costs come at a critical time. Over the next couple of months, Illinois farmers will decide whether to plant corn or shift acreage to soybeans. They must also determine whether they can afford to purchase and apply nitrogen fertilizer this fall or gamble that prices will fall before the spring planting season. The consequences will extend beyond the farm. When it costs more to grow corn, those added costs are ultimately passed on to working families through higher prices at the grocery store.
Governor Pritzker is calling on the Trump administration to:
- Direct the U.S. Departments of the Treasury and Commerce to allow urea, urea ammonium nitrate, anhydrous ammonia and ammonium sulfate to enter the United States free of federal import taxes for the duration of the emergency.
- Extend the suspension covering phosphate fertilizer from Morocco through June 30, 2027, ensuring it remains in place throughout the fall purchasing window and the full spring application season.
The Governor’s full letter is available below:
Gov. Pritzker's Letter to Trump
