Iowa project included in USDA domestic fertilizer production promise
Iowa project included in USDA domestic fertilizer production promise
Donnelle Eller, Des Moines RegisterThu, October 22, 2026 at 7:54 PM UTC
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Ahead of the closely contested midterm elections, the Trump administration says it plans to invest about $600 million in fertilizer projects in nearly 20 states, including Iowa, that will boost domestic supplies and lower costs for U.S. farmers.
It's the latest in a string of announcements as the administration seeks to shore up support for Republicans from U.S. farmers, who have been struggling with high production costs that include rising diesel and fertilizer prices.
It comes as President Donald Trump visits Sioux City Thursday, Oct. 22, for a voter rally.
Iowa races rated as competitive include the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate contests and three of four for the U.S. House — all currently held by the GOP.
At a campaign rally in Kansas on Monday, Trump announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture would send $8 billion in aid to U.S. farmers to help offset diesel fuel prices that are about 75% higher than a year ago. It followed an executive order early this month to defer the collection of federal taxes on diesel fuel for farm use.
On Thursday, Vice President J.D. Vance and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that USDA would provide farmers further price relief by investing $603 million to support $1.3 billion in projects to expand domestic nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulfur fertilizer production.
As with fuel, the Iran war, launched in February, has disrupted supplies of petroleum-derived urea, a key fertilizer component, contributing to increases in prices that already were rising.
“America cannot afford to depend on foreign nations for the fertilizer needed to grow our food and feed our families,” Rollins said in a statement. “We are taking decisive action to rebuild America’s fertilizer manufacturing base and bring critical production back to American soil.”
The USDA, which initially planned to invest $500 million to expand U.S. fertilizer production, said it was investing about $100 million more, “redirecting funding from failed Biden-era projects” into “viable, shovel-ready investments.”
It said about 90 dating from the Biden administration had no agreements signed and others had insufficient financing or were underperforming. Some of the projects, including kombucha- or worm-based fertilizers, would not have increased domestic production, it said.
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The USDA said Iowa farmers will benefit from $99.8 million in federal financing for TalusAg, an Austin, Texas-based company that proposes investing $270.2 million to build 20 modular ammonia manufacturing facilities across 11 locations in seven states. They include Iowa, where the plan calls for spending $50 million to build modular ammonia facilities in Eagle Grove and Manning in northwest Iowa.
The company already has a facility in Iowa, partnering with Landus Cooperative two years ago to build a plant near Boone producing so-called "green ammonia." The facility, which began production in 2025, produces up to 20 tons each day, Landus and Talus said.
It uses a design developed in Africa to tap solar or other renewable energy to pull hydrogen molecules from water and combine them with atmospheric nitrogen to make ammonia — NH₃ — a key ingredient in nitrogen fertilizer. Typically, anhydrous ammonia is produced from natural gas.
While the environmentally friendlier process is more expensive, it is eligible for federal clean energy tax credits to offset the cost. The company has said its modular production also cuts costs by enabling it to produce fertilizer in smaller amounts closer to where farmers use it.
In addition to Iowa, TalusAg plans to build modular plants in Kentucky, Minnesota, Tennessee, Nebraska, Illinois and South Dakota.
USDA said the projects slated to get financing will help provide competition in the highly consolidated fertilizer industry, cutting nitrogen fertilizer prices by 4.4% and potash prices by 5.3%.
Iowa farmers say fertilizer prices are double and in some cases triple what they were a year ago, and some are worried whether it will even be available next year. The rising costs come as farmers face a fourth year of production costs outstripping the prices they receive for corn, soybeans and other crops.
Other projects the USDA plans to finance through its Fertilizer Investment and Expansion for Long-Term Domestic Supply program, or FIELDS, include:
Peace Valley, a $50.6 million Bartow, Florida, project expected to produce about 250,000 tons annually of nitrogen, phosphorus-, potassium-, and sulfur-containing fertilizer product. It is slated to receive $19.9 million in USDA funding.
PCI Nitrogen, a $200 million project receiving half its funding from USDA to modernize fertilizer manufacturing facilities in Pasadena, Texas, and St. Helens, Oregon. The improvements would support 148,280 tons of annual fertilizer production, including ammonium sulfate and urea.
Intrepid Potash, a $265 million project with $139 million in USDA funding to build a facility near Carlsbad, New Mexico, producing 220,000 tons annually of sulfate of potash. It would establish an additional domestic source of this specialty fertilizer used mainly by produce growers.
AdvanSix, a $98.1 million project with $47.4 million in USDA funding to modernize and expand an existing ammonia manufacturing facility in Hopewell, Virginia. The project is expected to produce 84,000 tons of anhydrous ammonia annually.
SUL4R-PLUS Illinois, a $69.7 million project with $34.9 million in USDA funding to expand an existing sulfur fertilizer manufacturing facility in Marissa, Illinois. The project would add a manufacturing line and improve storage and transportation infrastructure to support about 100,000 tons annually of additional sulfur fertilizer production.
True Organic Products, a $30.6 million project receiving 50% of its funding from the USDA. It would expand fertilizer manufacturing at facilities in Helm, California; Boardman, Oregon; and Arlington, Arizona, producing 142,805 tons of fertilizer annually from agricultural byproducts.
Agriculture Project Holdco, a $360 million project with $116.9 million in USDA funding to develop facilities in Lewis, Kansas, and Fair Oaks, Indiana, that would convert manure from dairy cows into 4,100 tons of liquid ammonium nitrate fertilizer annually.
Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa project included in USDA domestic fertilizer production promise
Source: “AOL Money”
