The Kentucky Corn Growers Association (KYCGA) has joined a coalition of state corn farmer organizations in a formal letter to U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, requesting a status update and continued action on the Department of Justice’s investigation into fertilizer pricing and market concentration. The letter, representing corn grower organizations from 14 corn-producing states, underscores the depth and breadth of farmer concern over the current state of the input marketplace.
As KY farmers enter the heart of the 2026 planting season, the cost-income squeeze facing farm families has intensified. Crop prices remain depressed, while the cost of essential nutrients continues to climb. According to DTN market data, DAP fertilizer currently stands at $851 per ton — $108 higher than a year ago. MAP is $879 per ton, up $71, and potash is $488 per ton, up $52. Overall corn production costs are projected to climb another 4% in 2026, and net farm income is expected to decline sharply. This squeeze existed long before any escalated tension in the Middle East further escalated the situation in recent days.
“Kentucky farmers are making critical purchasing decisions right now under the weight of an input market that this Administration’s own officials have described as broken,” Micah Lester, President of KYCGA said. “This coalition letter represents a unified voice from corn farmers across America: we need transparency, we need accountability, and we need a fair and competitive marketplace for the inputs that keep this nation fed.”
Leadership at the USDA has publicly identified a “duopoly” in the fertilizer market and called the level of concentration “unacceptable.” Secretary Rollins has warned of “vulnerabilities to price-fixing” in the industry. The Administration has taken several steps to address the issue, including the September 2025 Memorandum of Understanding between the DOJ and USDA and the President’s December 2025 Executive Order directing investigation of anticompetitive conduct in sectors including fertilizer. Reports also indicate that the Antitrust Division has opened an active investigation into pricing practices among major fertilizer producers.
The coalition’s letter makes three specific requests of the Department:
- Publicly confirm that fertilizer markets are within the active scope of the Food Supply Chain Security Task Force and any related investigations.
- Include America’s farmers and their representative organizations in the stakeholder engagement informing this work.
- Make the findings of required congressional briefings available to the agricultural stakeholders most directly affected.
“If American farmers can’t afford to put a crop in the ground, we become more dependent on foreign nations to feed our own people. That’s a national security problem,” added Lester. “We’re encouraged by the steps this Administration has taken, and we’re asking them to match that resolve with transparency and continued action.”
KYCGA will continue to monitor the progress of this investigation and advocate for the fair, competitive marketplace that Kentucky’s farm families deserve.
Read the full letter below: