US independent fertilizer producers will fight poverty

On March 10, Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Tom Vilsack announced that over 350 independent businesses filed applications costing $3 billion within the first two rounds of a new grant program to build innovative fertilizer production capacity in the country.

New independent enterprises will be able to compete with the monopolists of the American fertilizer market. This will provide farmers with fairer prices and a wider choice of chemicals, and reduce the dependence of the US market on Belarusian and Russian fertilizers.

The first $29 million announced by Tom Vilsack will go to eight independent fertilizer producers in Colorado, Alabama, Missouri, Massachusetts, Washington, and Ohio. The grants will help companies upgrade equipment, expand or build manufacturing facilities, and promote environmentally friendly practices.

Grant recipients are also required to address social challenges that include maintaining or creating hundreds of jobs, improving infrastructure with contributions to public facilities such as health centers or schools, and providing high-speed Internet in rural areas of their presence.