Congressman Clay Higgins of Louisiana Urges USDA To Address Rising Fertilizer Costs For Farmers

Louisiana / Washington D.C. – Congressman Clay Higgins of Louisiana delivered a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack on August 17, 2022, encouraging him to address rising fertilizer costs that are harming Louisiana farmers.

“Significant increases in the cost of fertilizer this past year have caused financial crisis on family farms. Farmers in some areas are suffering from prices more than 300% higher than last winter,” wrote Congressman Higgins. “Existing USDA funding should be made available to currently operating fertilizer manufacturing facilities to enhance production of fertilizer products and address supply chain issues.”

“My office also stands in full support of the On-Farm Storage Loss Program (OFSLP). This program provides payments for uncompensated losses of harvested commodities, including grains, oilseeds, and hay stored in on-farm structures due to natural disasters. Louisiana farmers are being forced into bankruptcy by inflation. The American government must stand with farm families during this time of unprecedented supply chain disruptions and severe inflation brought about by government policies. What’s right is right. I will not sit idly by as our farmers are crushed by inflation,” concluded Congressman Higgins.

Follow this link to read the full text of the letter.