Minnesota Congressman Brad Finstad is backing new legislation aimed at giving farmers better insight into fertilizer costs, a growing concern as volatility continues across global markets. Finstad joined South Dakota Congressman Dusty Johnson in introducing the Fertilizer Transparency Act, which would require USDA to publish weekly fertilizer price data online. Companion legislation has also been introduced in the Senate by John Thune and Amy Klobuchar. Finstad says the bill is about giving producers better tools to manage risk. “It really just highlights the fact that markets can be volatile to us in farm country that are completely out of our control,” he said. “We saw the uptick when Russia invaded Ukraine. Now we’re seeing the uncertainty in the Strait and what that has caused for volatility in the market.” Finstad says the broader issue is affordability, with rising input costs squeezing already tight margins. “At the end of the day, it is really an affordability issue for us because on the input side, we have seen that volatility, we have seen that increase of our inputs while we’ve had a very stale market,” Finstad said. “And so our margins have become thin, if not non existent.” Finstad says improving transparency and strengthening supply chains will be key to helping farmers navigate ongoing uncertainty. Click here to listen to Jamie Dickerman’s full interview with Rep. Brad Finstad.
