BOONE, IA (AgCentral) – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, that the USDA is partnering with American business owners to expand domestic fertilizer production. This initiative aims to create jobs in rural communities and bolster local economies.
The USDA will award $35 million across seven states through the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP), which is funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation. The program provides grants to independent business owners to modernize equipment, adopt new technologies, and build production plants. These investments align with President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which focuses on growing the economy from the middle out and the bottom up.
“The Biden-Harris Administration continues to make innovative investments that bolster rural communities and support farmers, ranchers and small business owners,” Secretary Vilsack said. “The investments announced today will increase domestic fertilizer production and strengthen our supply chain, while creating good-paying jobs to benefit all Americans.”
To date, USDA has invested $286.6 million in 64 projects across 32 states through FPEP, creating 768 new jobs and increasing domestic fertilizer production by over 5.6 million tons. The latest round of funding will further boost production and lower costs for U.S. farmers.
Among the recipients is Dramm Corp. in Wisconsin, which will use a $776,000 grant to expand its production capacity. The company produces liquid fish fertilizer from fish offal, reducing waste in landfills and waterways while supporting organic and traditional farming.
In Virginia, AdvanSix, a producer of ammonium sulfate, will receive nearly $12 million to expand its facility, increasing production capacity by 195,000 tons per year. The expansion will benefit over 36,000 producers across the East Coast and Midwest.
Additional awards will be distributed to facilities in California, Iowa, New York, Oregon, and Tennessee.
The FPEP was established to address challenges faced by American farmers due to rising fertilizer prices, driven by global factors such as the war in Ukraine and limited competition in the fertilizer industry. The program is part of the administration’s broader efforts to promote fair competition, innovation, and climate-smart agriculture while addressing global food insecurity.