USDA Wants Farmers to Help With Fertilizer Probe as Prices Soar

April 13, 2026, 8:12 PM UTC

The Trump administration is seeking information from farmers to help with an ongoing Justice Department probe into high costs for fertilizer, machinery and other farm inputs.

US Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden said he has met with officials at the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to discuss lines of inquiry, and knows that “farmers have a lot of information that might be relevant to these investigations.” The Department of Justice is investigating whether fertilizer producers colluded to raise prices, Bloomberg reported in early March.

“We need farmers to help provide us with that information on ...

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