U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is making domestic fertilizer production investments in nine states to increase competition, lower fertilizer costs for American farmers and lower food costs for U.S. consumers.
“When we invest in domestic supply chains, we drive down input costs and increase options for farmers,” Secretary Vilsack said. “Through today's investments to make more fertilizer, USDA is bringing jobs back to the United States, lowering costs for families, and supporting farmer income.”
USDA is awarding more than $116 million through the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP) to help eight facilities expand innovative fertilizer production in California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
FPEP is funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation and provides funding to independent business owners to help them modernize equipment, adopt new technologies, build production plants and more.
Through the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program, USDA has invested $517 million in 76 fertilizer production facilities to expand access to domestic fertilizer options for American farmers in 34 states and Puerto Rico. These investments will increase U.S. fertilizer production by 11.8 million tons annually and create more than 1,300 jobs in rural communities.
Examples of projects being announced today are listed below.
- In California, Biofiltro USA Inc. will use a $2.3 million grant to construct a new facility in Kingsburg to process manure from dairy cows by using vermifilitering techniques. The project will yield more than 33,000 cubic yards of composted fertilizer alternative annually and benefit farmers within the region.
- In Georgia, Reve Solutions Inc. will use a $1.3 million grant to expand a biosolid fertilizer composter and will help increase capacity through additional equipment and working capital for two production locations. Through this expansion, Reve Solutions is expected to generate over 30,000 tons of fertilizer nutrient and create five new jobs
- In Kansas, the Farmers Cooperative Association will use a $2.3 million grant to expand an existing dry fertilizer facility with additional storage and processing capacity. The project will improve the efficiency of order processing but also expand services to include dust suppression to reduce run-off. Through this investment, the facility will increase its dry fertilizer production to 24,500 tons per year.
President Biden and USDA created FPEP to combat issues facing American farmers due to rising fertilizer prices, which more than doubled between 2021 and 2022 due to a variety of factors such as war in Ukraine and a lack of competition in the fertilizer industry.
The Administration committed up to $900 million through the Commodity Credit Corporation for FPEP. Funding supports long-term investments that will strengthen supply chains, create new economic opportunities for American businesses and support climate-smart innovation.
Investments in this program also have advanced the President’s Investing in America agenda to grow the nation’s economy from the middle out and bottom up and to promote fair and competitive markets for American farmers and ranchers.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas. Visit the Rural Data Gateway to learn how and where these investments are impacting rural America. To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit the GovDelivery Subscriber Page.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America.
Source : usda.gov