The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday unveiled a $500 million program designed to expand fertilizer production capacity inside the United States and to strengthen the domestic fertilizer supply chain.
Named the Fertilizer Investment & Expansion for Long-Term Domestic Supply (FIELDS) Program, the initiative will be run by USDA Rural Development under Commodity Credit Corporation authorities. Funding is intended to support both new construction and expansions of existing fertilizer production facilities.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins said the program is intended to reduce American farmers' dependence on foreign fertilizer suppliers. Individual awards will range from $15 million to $150 million, with priority given to projects that are shovel-ready and demonstrate financial viability.
The FIELDS Program will back projects that expand domestic output of nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulfur and other crop nutrients. Administration of the program will be handled by USDA Rural Development's Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
The announcement follows a USDA review of more than 120 fertilizer projects conducted under the previous administration. In developing the program, the department said it worked with project developers, lenders, farmers and federal partners to identify barriers to construction and to financing.
The FIELDS Program is one element of a wider administration strategy on fertilizer. Recent related actions cited in the announcement include suspending countervailing duties on phosphate fertilizer imports, designating phosphate and potash as Critical Minerals, and creating a USDA-Department of Justice agreement aimed at addressing anti-competitive practices in agricultural input markets.
Support for the initiative was also noted from other federal officials. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and Energy Secretary Chris Wright expressed their support for the program in the announcement.
By combining targeted grant awards with an emphasis on projects that are ready to proceed and financially sound, the USDA intends to channel the $500 million toward facilities that can expand domestic production of key crop nutrients. The department framed the program as a response to vulnerabilities in the fertilizer supply chain and as a complement to other policy steps taken by the administration.