News Summary

• Skyrocketing costs, unfair markets, and poor policy are pressuring farmers thanks to the ongoing conflict.
• An April report from the American Farm Bureau Federation found that 70% of the nation’s farmers cannot afford the fertilizer needed to operate another year.
• The price of chemicals necessary to produce fertilizer — phosphorus, nitrogen and ammonia, among others — has risen sharply since the start of the war, putting even more pressure on the nation's small and independent farmers and producers.
• “Right now is harder than any time in the history of our country for agriculture,” farmer Charles Harden said.