USDA moves to expand domestic fertilizer production
USDA announced renewed efforts to expand domestic fertilizer production and reduce reliance on foreign supplies. The effort includes advancing major ammonia projects, restarting FPEP activity and adding staff focused on farm input costs.
USDA is renewing efforts to expand domestic fertilizer production, including short-term relief measures and long-term investments aimed at reducing reliance on foreign supplies.
Brooke Rollins, USDA secretary, said the department is moving quickly on major fertilizer projects, including the Blue Point ammonia facility in Louisiana. Rollins said permitting for the $3.7 billion project could be completed within 45 days. When opened, the plant would become the world’s largest ammonia facility.
The announcement comes as farmers continue to face volatile fertilizer markets and elevated input costs. USDA officials said the administration is working to expand production capacity while easing regulatory and transportation barriers.
USDA also resumed the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP), which Rollins said had been slowed by regulatory hurdles. Projects moving forward under the program could add millions of tons of fertilizer production annually, according to USDA. A previously stalled $80 million project in Washington state is expected to produce 700,000 tons of hydrogen ammonia fertilizer annually.
“I think that this is a really important long-term step, but we’re taking these steps immediately to get to the goal of reshoring all fertilizer to our country,” Rollins said.
Rollins also said USDA is searching for an input economist focused on fertilizer and farm input costs. The effort is part of broader administration goals to increase domestic nitrogen, phosphate and potash production over the next several years.