(The Center Square) – Tensions in the Middle East disrupting global energy markets are driving up fertilizer prices, creating new pressures for Louisiana farmers while boosting export demand through the state’s ports.
As farmers in Louisiana and around the country enter the heart of the spring planting season, fertilizer arriving on barges at the Port of New Orleans is being purchased and reloaded for export to markets paying more than U.S. buyers.
More than 30% of global fertilizer exports have been stranded in the Persian Gulf since Iran’s near closure of the Strait of Hormuz in early March, causing nitrogen fertilizer prices to soar. The price for New Orleans barges reached $690.50 per short ton on Monday versus $871 for nitrogen fertilizer in international markets. A year ago, nitrogen fertilizer changed hands at approximately $382 – $388 per short ton at the Port of New Orleans.
Mosaic, one of Louisiana’s biggest fertilizer producers, which operates the Uncle Sam and Faustina plants in St. James Parish, noted in an April 22 market analysis that “extraordinary input cost pressures” exist for manufacturers and farmers alike. Globally traded commodities like its products are subject to “world prices” that neither they nor the American farmer can easily avoid.
Energy costs—specifically natural gas—typically account for 70% to 80% of the cost to manufacture nitrogen fertilizer. While natural gas is relatively cheap in Louisiana this planting season, manufacturers can sell finished fertilizer at world prices in Europe or South America.
CF Industries, which operates the world’s largest ammonia complex in Donaldsonville, can produce up to 8 million tons of nitrogen products annually. The company said in late March it would prioritize domestic supply, stating it is “foregoing new higher-priced export orders… to keep more nitrogen fertilizer product available to U.S. farmers.” The company is also converting 100 railcars to transport granular urea to U.S. distributors.
While manufacturers generate record sales, they also benefit from millions in local property tax abatements. A $363 million expansion at CF Industry’s Donaldsonville site, begun in early 2026, was approved for a tax exemption estimated at $6.7 million in its first year and $53.4 million over the project’s 10-year life. Critics argue this leaves local parishes—already squeezed by inflation—to subsidize the infrastructure used by global exporters.
For Louisiana farmers, fertilizer accounts for about 20.3% of the total projected operational cost per planted acre, estimated at $916.75 for 2026. This includes roughly $45–$60 per acre for the diesel fuel required for application. When nitrogen costs cross the $0.90 per pound threshold, the “marginal acre” land with lower fertility—becomes unprofitable to plant.
Because of these cost pressures, LSU AgCenter data shows planted corn and rice acreage has dropped sharply this year. Louisiana corn acreage is projected to drop to roughly 440,000 acres, down 35% compared to recent years. Planted rice acreage in the state will decline by 13% to about 425,000 acres, according to AgCenter estimates.
To provide immediate liquidity as farmers head into the season, the federal Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program is distributing $12 billion in emergency aid, with Louisiana growers receiving between $44 and $132 per acre.
“The bridge payment closed a lot of those gaps for bank loans,” noted LSU AgCenter agricultural economist Dr. Michael Deliberto, who warned that acreage cuts will ripple through rural economies, impacting everyone from equipment dealers to the local tax bases that support parish schools and infrastructure.
Fertilizer manufacturers could receive further tax relief on May 16, when Louisiana voters head to the polls to consider a constitutional amendment that would allow parishes to waive property taxes on business inventory. Proponents of Amendment 4 claim that the exemption would foster economic growth by lowering overhead for industries like fertilizer production. Opponents contend the change would cause a long-term erosion of the local tax base that sustains public education and parish services.
