Key Takeaways:
- USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a $35 million investment in seven fertilizer production projects across seven states at the Farm Progress Show in Iowa.
- The Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP) funds these projects to modernize equipment, adopt new technologies, and build production plants.
- To date, FPEP has invested $286.6 million in 64 projects, creating 768 jobs and increasing domestic fertilizer production by over 5.6 million tons.
- These investments align with President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, aiming to strengthen supply chains, lower costs for farmers, and support climate-smart innovation.
At the annual Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a significant partnership with American business owners to expand innovative domestic fertilizer production. The USDA is awarding $35 million for seven projects across seven states through the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP). This initiative, funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation, is designed to modernize the fertilizer industry, create jobs in rural communities, and strengthen local economies.
Program Details and Objectives
The Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP) provides grants to independent business owners to help modernize their equipment, adopt new technologies, and build or expand production plants. The program is a key component of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which focuses on growing the nation’s economy from the middle out and the bottom up.
“The Biden-Harris Administration continues to make innovative investments that bolster rural communities and support farmers, ranchers, and small business owners,” said Secretary Vilsack. “The investments announced today will increase domestic fertilizer production and strengthen our supply chain, while creating good-paying jobs to benefit all Americans.”
Impact of Current Investments
The latest round of funding brings the total USDA investment through FPEP to $286.6 million, supporting 64 projects across 32 states. These initiatives have already created 768 new jobs in rural communities and are projected to increase domestic fertilizer production by over 5.6 million tons, helping to reduce costs for U.S. farmers.
Notable Projects
Among the projects receiving grants, Dramm Corp. in Wisconsin will use $776,000 to increase production capacity and expand its network of customers while reducing its carbon footprint. Dramm produces liquid fish fertilizer from fish offal, which is suitable for both organic and traditional farming, and helps keep millions of pounds of waste out of landfills and waterways.
In Virginia, AdvanSix, an ammonium sulfate producer, will receive nearly $12 million to expand its facility. This expansion will increase the company’s operational capacity by 195,000 tons per year, allowing it to serve more than 36,000 agricultural producers on the East Coast and in the Midwest.
Additional investments will support fertilizer production facilities in California, Iowa, New York, Oregon, and Tennessee.
Background and Future Goals
The FPEP was created by President Biden and the USDA to address the challenges American farmers have faced due to rising fertilizer prices, which more than doubled between 2021 and 2022. Contributing factors included the war in Ukraine and a lack of competition in the fertilizer industry. The Administration has committed up to $900 million through the Commodity Credit Corporation for FPEP, with the goal of strengthening supply chains, creating new economic opportunities for American businesses, and supporting climate-smart innovation.
