FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Robyn Carlson
rcarlson@coloradocorn.com
Colorado farmers deliver standing ovation to FTC’s investigation into fertilizer companies
MCKINNEY, Texas (May 28, 2026) – The Federal Trade Commission has launched a long-awaited and highly-anticipated investigation into the fertilizer industry’s pricing practices and market concentration, Chairman Andrew Ferguson announced today at a gathering of farmers from across 18 states on a North Texas farm.
“I’m announcing that, on my order, the commission some time ago commenced a major industry-wide investigation into the precipitous rise of fertilizer prices in this country, which has affected so many of our nation’s farmers, including everyone in this room, including the issuance of compulsory process,” Chairman Ferguson said. “USDA data has shown the single largest increase in input costs of farmers across the United States since 2020 has come from fertilizer… These continued price increases are not something our nation, much less our farmers, can continue to ignore.”
The announcement drew an immediate response from the farm leaders who organized the event.
“When food prices go up, the finger points at farmers, but we are not the ones profiting. The companies controlling the fertilizer supply are. They have been posting strong returns for years while we’ve been squeezed. If we don’t speak up now, I worry the last generation of family farmers will be gone before anyone figures out what happened,” said Matt Mulch, CCPC Board Member and a farmer from Kit Carson county.
The event — “Fed Up: Fertilizer Cartel Profits off Farmers’ Backs and Your Grocery Bill” — took aim at the crushing input costs set by Mosaic, Nutrien, CF Industries and Koch. Those costs have driven family farms to the breaking point, with bankruptcies climbing to record numbers, as fertilizer shareholder profits hit record highs. To paint a picture with numbers, fertilizer prices rose more than 150% since 2020, far outpacing inflation, while net farm income fell 31% from its 2022 peak.
Following the Chairman’s keynote, farmers from across the country joined an on-stage panel before a crowd of more than 100 agricultural leaders and producers who traveled from multiple states to attend. Farmers shared firsthand accounts of how rising fertilizer costs and concentrated market power are squeezing family operations and urged the FTC to take aggressive action to protect American agriculture from further decline.
The FTC reiterated its commitment to maintaining the confidentiality of its sources in its investigative process, with the chairman citing the Commission’s launch of a confidentiality commitment on its website last week. Ferguson encouraged those with information that would be helpful in its investigation to come forward to the FTC, with the confidence of the Commission’s protection.
“We cannot have a secure food supply without the people who grow the food, and we cannot keep those people farming if we let a handful of fertilizer companies hold the whole system hostage. The FTC’s investigation is a critical step toward restoring the fair, competitive marketplace that farm families and American consumers deserve,” said Mulch.
Background:
By Chapter 12 bankruptcy filings (2025, year-over-year change):
- Arkansas: 33 filings (+100%) — most in the state in the 21st century
- Georgia: 27 filings (+145%)
- Iowa: 18 filings (+220%)
- Midwest region: 121 total filings (led all regions)
- Southeast region (includes Colorado): 105 total filings (second highest)
839 farms filed for bankruptcy in the last four years — and that’s just the ones who made it to court. The U.S. lost 35,000 farms in that same period.
Sources: AFBF Chapter 12 data; USDA NASS Farms & Land in Farms; USDA ERS Farm Labor
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The Fed Up event was made possible by Alabama Soybean & Corn Association, Colorado Corn Promotion Council, Georgia Corn Growers Association, Illinois Corn Marketing Board, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Kansas Corn Growers Association, Michigan Corn Growers Association, Minnesota Corn Growers Association, Missouri Corn Growers Association, Ohio Corn & Wheat, South Carolina Corn Association, South Dakota Corn Utilization Council. Farmers from across multiple commodities and 18 states attended the event.