Nebraska farmers faced with skyrocketing fuel and fertilizer costs as war surges overseas

MARTELL, Neb. (KLKN) – The fighting in Iran is driving up prices for fertilizer and fuel, forcing farmers to pay more ahead of planting season.

“War is an unpredictable thing,” said Rod Hollman, a farmer in Lancaster County.

The warfare is proving to be just that: unpredictable.

Hollman paid for his fertilizer before the attacks in the Middle East began. And he said he’s glad for that now because the costs have jumped significantly.

His nitrogen fertilizer was $645 per ton. But now, only a week later, that same fertilizer would cost $800.

The price of anhydrous ammonia also soared to $995 per ton. That’s $150 more than it was before the conflict in Iran.

“But it wasn’t too many years ago, we were only paying $400,” Hollman said. “So it wasn’t just this increase. It’s on top of the increases in the last few years.”

Hollman said that, along with rising fuel prices, is just another thing weighing on farmers.

Already, he said, farmers are dealing with high property taxes and increased costs for equipment repairs and seed. And on the downside, the crop prices aren’t rising.

So Hollman is holding out hope that the fertilizer and fuel prices will return to normal sooner than later.

“I think it’s a spike, and I think it’ll stabilize,” he said.