Andy Corriher voted for Donald Trump. From his farm in the southeast of the United States, he watches helplessly as the war in the Middle East sends his costs soaring and risks reducing his harvest.
“We were hit at the worst possible time. We need fertilizer whose price is skyrocketing and availability is decreasing,” said the 47-year-old farmer to AFP on the edge of a field of tender green wheat.
In response to Israeli-American bombings on its soil, Tehran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime route for the trade of oil and fertilizer, causing prices to soar.
Yet these are two major expenses for farmers, who are largely loyal to the Republican party in power in the United States.
In the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump came out on top in 78% of agricultural-dependent counties, according to the Investigate Midwest organization.
The Republican blamed the price surge on the “fertilizer monopoly,” stating, “American farmers, we are with you!”
Based in the town of China Grove, North Carolina, Andy Corriher is still waiting for the liquid nitrogen fertilizer he ordered several weeks ago.
“The seller says they still don’t know when they can deliver to me.”
According to him, prices have risen by at least 40% since the war.
The farmer has decided to use one-third less, risking compromising the yield.
– “Heartbreaking” –
About fifty kilometers away, Russell Hedrick had no choice but to buy most of his fertilizer after the price surge.
“Many American farmers don’t have enough space to stockpile,” explained the forty-year-old who mixes products to feed his 400 hectares of soybeans and cereals.
He has decided to use the “absolute minimum” of fertilizer and potentially add more later.
According to him, even before the war, costs were such that “farmers had to play chemists like Breaking Bad with fertilizers to get the most out of them.”
At another farm in North Carolina, Derrick Austin struggles to digest remarks made by Agriculture Minister Brooke Rollins.
She highlighted the fact that 80% of American farmers were able to buy the necessary fertilizer before the conflict.
“It took my breath away,” described the 55-year-old who is part of the remaining 20%.
He called his supplier as soon as he heard about the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and managed to negotiate several dozen tons of nitrogen fertilizer at the previous price “to at least be able to feed my wheat.” “It was heartbreaking.”
– “Collateral damage” –
American agriculture “has been in recession for two years” with declining incomes, recalls Chad Hart, a specialist in the sector at the University of Iowa, a rural state in the center of the United States.
The conflict will worsen the situation, but many farmers have been able to limit the damage and spread fertilizer without astronomical surcharges, the professor added.
The 2027 harvest will be “more of a concern” if the conflict continues, he believes.
“It’s as if we didn’t really think about all the consequences (of the war) for Americans,” reflected Andy Corriher, for whom “everyone seems to be suffering” from the surge in fuel prices.
The farmer, who supported Donald Trump, feels that these repercussions have been “somehow neglected, considered collateral damage.”
When asked about his perception of the president, Derrick Austin said he “is starting to question some of his reasoning.” The Republican government “is still better than some alternatives,” he added.
“He’s human like us. I think he makes good decisions, I also think he makes mistakes,” remarked Russell Hedrick, who voted for Trump three times (in 2016, 2020, and 2024).
