MONROE, Mich. – The war in the Middle East is pushing up gas prices, but farmers say it’s also hitting them during planting season as fertilizer costs rise amid shipping disruptions tied to the Strait of Hormuz.
In Monroe, Ron Stadler was working in his greenhouse, preparing seedlings for retail growers.
Stadler, who farms about 100 acres, said he was relieved he locked in fertilizer prices last fall.
“If you don’t do that and wait till spring to buy your fertilizers and stuff, then it’s going to be significantly more,” Stadler said.
In Ida, Michigan, fourth-generation farmer Brad Kamprath tends about 1,000 acres, growing corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay.
Kamprath said fertilizer prices were already up 30% to 40% before the Iran conflict intensified and have climbed further since.
He said his locked-in price in 2025 was $240 a ton, but that fall he paid $370 a ton for the 2026 season. Now, he said, the same fertilizer costs as much as $480 a ton.
Farmers say those increases add up quickly when spread across hundreds or thousands of acres, especially with diesel up about 30%, raising costs for equipment and transportation.
“If they get the straight thing figured out, we’ll be all right,” Kamprath said.
For now, Kamprath and Stadler said they plan to absorb the added costs, but both warned higher prices could eventually reach consumers if elevated costs continue into next year’s growing season.
“It will eventually, I will probably have to succumb and raise my price a little bit more,” Stadler said.
Farmers say it’s not only fertilizer that’s more expensive: getting products from farms to store shelves also costs more, and those added transportation costs can be reflected in what shoppers pay.
Stadler recommended checking local farm stands and farmers markets, including Eastern Market, for potentially better produce deals this spring.