Foreign media: A confluence of geopolitical conflicts is plunging American farmers into unprecedented difficulties. Following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, exports of key fertilizers such as nitrogen fertilizer and urea from Russia and Belarus—major global fertilizer exporters—were blocked, leading to a sharp rise in fertilizer prices. New York dairy farmer Jeff Winton was forced to stop growing corn as early as 2022 due to this situation.
Adding insult to injury, the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict that erupted on February 28, 2026, has effectively closed off the Strait of Hormuz. This strait previously carried about one-third of global maritime fertilizer trade and roughly half of global urea exports. Major producing countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia rely heavily on this route for fertilizer exports. Although a ceasefire has been declared for two weeks, the strait remains largely closed at present.
With fertilizer costs remaining high, American farmers are increasingly shifting toward soybean cultivation—since soybeans require significantly less nitrogen fertilizer. This trend objectively increases U.S. reliance on China’s soybean procurement.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862192221233162/
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