Senators Revive Fertilizer Market Consolidation, Price Probe (1)

Senators are pushing to increase oversight of the fertilizer industry’s pricing power and market concentration.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) calls for an inquiry into whether consolidation “has had any anticompetitive impacts,” according to a copy of the legislation, which is set for a Tuesday introduction.

Three senators are cosponsoring the measure, obtained exclusively by Bloomberg Government, as farmers find themselves caught between rising production costs and falling crop revenues. The measure directs the Agriculture Department to investigate factors influencing fertilizer prices for farmers including market concentration, trade, and emerging technology.

“Our bipartisan bill will ...