This post is part of a series chronicling news coverage of rising prices in the United States. See more here.
“The war in Iran may feel a world away, but it's hitting Missouri farmers hard right now”; Springfield station KY3 News reports on how the Iran war has forced farmers into “tough choices”
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From a June 2, 2026, video posted to the YouTube station of KY3 News
PAUL ADLER (ANCHOR): The war in Iran may feel a world away, but it's hitting Missouri farmers hard right now. Oil, natural gas, and fertilizer shipments are stalled in the Strait of Hormuz, and that means local growers are facing soaring prices and tough choices about how much they can afford to plant. Emma McDaris spoke to some farmers about what happens when the price for fertilizer suddenly jumps.
EMMA MCDARIS (REPORTER): Farmers in Missouri had a difficult choice to make earlier this year and will have to make it again for the fall. Is buying fertilizer worth it?
TREVOR THIEMAN: There's been a lot of cuts with — do we buy bulk diesel or do we buy a lot of fertilizer?
MCDARIS: Trevor Thieman's family has farmed this land in Webster County for 125 years. When fertilizer prices spiked this spring, he made a hard call.
THIEMAN: We got rid of cows so we wouldn't have to rely on buying fertilizer.
MCDARIS: Fertilizer prices jumped sharply after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February. It triggered a conflict that essentially shut down commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. According to United Nations, about one third of the world's seaborne fertilizer supply passes through that waterway. Thieman says fertilizer doesn't just help the hay crop, it can keep cows fed longer.
THIEMAN: It's about, you know, making the most of the ground that you are farming. So you just got to make sure that if you are going to graze more than what's really recommended that you do, you know, buy the fertilizer to help stretch that a little bit longer.
MCDARIS: He says it comes down to knowing what your ground needs and what you can afford.
THIEMAN: We don't want to run our land into the ground because then you're you're not only missing fertilizer, but you're missing a lot of things. I mean, soil samples are huge, so you just got to kind of find a lot, you know, find a good balance of can I afford not to fertilize?
MCDARIS: With fall approaching, that question matters more than ever. Fall fertilizing can help crops survive the winter, but for farmers already stretched thin, every dollar counts. In Springfield, Emma McDaris, KY3 News.