USDA to invest $83mn in fertilizer projects

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA)plans to invest $83mn to build out fertilizer production plants, modernize equipment and adopt new technologies in 12 states.

The grants are part of the USDA's Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP) aimed at boosting domestic fertilizer production, increasing competition and lowering costs for farmers.

Around $25mn will be granted to a food waste upcycling facility in Jurupa Valley, California, to produce organic fertilizer. Nearly 90 market participants in the area will be supplied by the 11,400 tons of fertilizer produced annually at this facility.

Cog Marketers, in partnership with AgroLiquid, is expected to produce 2mn USG of fertilizer a year at its Lake City facility in Florida with a $4mn grant from the USDA. Around 200 fertilizer retailers in the Mid-South region would receive product from this facility.

Return will receive $4mn to expand production at its Northwood facility in Iowa.

Other grants were awarded to projects in California, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon and Washington.

So far, FPEP has supplied 29 states with $251mn for increased domestic fertilizer production, with the last round of awards announced in March and January.

About $649mn are left from the $900mn the administration of President Joe Biden committed to domestic fertilizer funding through FPEP in 2022. The FPEF was started in response to rising fertilizer prices caused by a variety of factors including the war in Ukraine.

By Meghan Yoyotte