Skyrocketing Price of Fertilizer and Diesel

Floor Speech

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Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, in northwest Ohio and across our Heartland, farmers are hurting. After 2 years of record drought, a year of reckless Trump tariffs, their export markets are drying up abroad.

Now comes the war in Iran.

One-third of the world's fertilizer supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Its cost just rose.

Mr. Speaker, 25 percent of the world's oil supply passes through this narrow channel off the Iranian coast. Much like oil, fertilizer is traded on a global market, and a disruption on either side of the globe impacts Ohio farmers, producers, and growers.

This comes at the worst time as planting season is upon us. Our agriculture sector is teetering on the brink. Hello. Family farms hang in the balance. For many, this is a make-or-break year.

On top of skyrocketing fertilizer costs, the national average for diesel just hit a record $5.37 per gallon.

If costs don't stabilize soon, the Heartland is in for a reckoning. We don't want one. We don't want one. Is the White House--hello, are you paying attention?

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