WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven this week joined U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins to outline work to lower fertilizer prices for the nation’s farmers.
Hoeven highlighted both long and short-term efforts to help lower fertilizer costs and support the nation’s producers, including:
- Grand Farm’s work as the National Program Manager for USDA’s new National Proving Grounds Network for AgTech (NPG-Ag), including Grand Farm’s focus on proving new weed control technologies. Earlier this month, Hoeven announced Grand Farm’s leadership of the AgTech Network.
- Dakota Gasification Company’s (DGC’s) production of fertilizers, including ammonium sulfate, anhydrous ammonia and urea in North Dakota, providing a local source of critical fertilizer for the nation’s producers.
- Agriculture Assistance – Hoeven is working to provide additional farm assistance, building upon the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program. The senator is working with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) to:
- Expand FBA to cover a greater share of producer losses.
- Include acres that were prevented from being planted as eligible under FBA.
- Expand support for specialty crops and sugar producers.
- Increase farm ownership and operating loan limits.
Hoeven and Rollins were also joined by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Assistant Secretary of the Army Adam Telle, Agriculture Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden, Senators John Boozman and Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Representative Ashley Hinson (R-IA) to demonstrate the commitment of leaders across government to supporting producers.
“We appreciate Secretary Rollins for her commitment to helping our producers, nobody works harder or cares more about our farmers and ranchers. This team is committed to farmers and ranchers because President Trump is committed to farmers and ranchers, and you can see it here in spades. We know our farmers and ranchers are facing challenges. Secretary Rollins talked about both the long-term and short-term efforts. Let me start with the long-term. We’re starting that at Grand Farm in North Dakota. When we talk about AgTech, we’re talking about how we make our farmers and ranchers more profitable, not just now, but for the next generation that we’ve got to get into farming,” said Hoeven.
“In the short-term, I want to thank Secretary Burgum and Secretary Rollins for bringing up Dakota Gasification Company. They are taking coal, converting it to natural gas, taking that natural gas, and producing fertilizer in the heartland of our country. This isn’t about getting fertilizer from Indonesia or from the Gulf. This is about making it right here at home. And we’re going to do a lot more of that. The Trump administration is committed to making it here in America, and we’re going to do it,” Hoeven said.
“Additionally, we are hard at work with the administration and with our great leadership in the Senate and the House to do more on the Farm Bridge assistance. When we talk about long-term and short-term, we’re also committed right up to the president, we’ve had those conversations, about doing more ag assistance as well in the short-term,” Hoeven concluded.
