Fair Oaks among fertilizer projects selected for federal funding

Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, announced the selection of eight fertilizer manufacturing projects to receive funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Fertilizer Investment & Expansion for Long-Term Domestic Supply (FIELDS) Program.

The eight selected projects represent more than $1.34 billion in total proposed investment, including approximately $573 million in proposed USDA funding, to strengthen domestic fertilizer manufacturing, reduce America’s dependence on foreign suppliers, and increase long-term fertilizer availability for American farmers.

Under President Donald J. Trump’s leadership, USDA launched the $500 million FIELDS Program to expand domestic fertilizer manufacturing and address one of the most significant supply chain vulnerabilities facing American agriculture. The Administration is also making additional funding available recovered from failed projects under the Biden Administration’s Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP), redirecting taxpayer resources toward projects with stronger financial viability, private-sector investment, and measurable manufacturing outcomes.

“I was proud to be in Nebraska today to announce 1.3 billion dollars of investment in domestic fertilizer manufacturing right here in the United States,” said Vice President J.D. Vance. “1.87 million farmers who are farming over 874 million acres all across the United States of America are going to have fertilizer at lower costs that is made by Americans.”

“Farm security is national security. America cannot afford to depend on foreign nations for the fertilizer needed to grow our food and feed our families,” said Secretary Brooke L. Rollins. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are taking decisive action to rebuild America’s fertilizer manufacturing base and bring critical production back to American soil. By redirecting funding from failed Biden-era projects toward financially viable, shovel-ready investments, we are putting taxpayer dollars to work for American farmers, strengthening our national security, and ensuring that the next generation of producers has access to a reliable domestic fertilizer supply.”

America’s fertilizer industry has become increasingly consolidated, leaving farmers with fewer suppliers and less competition. Four companies control approximately 77% of North American nitrogen fertilizer production capacity, two companies account for more than 90% of phosphate production capacity, and two companies produce approximately 90% of North America’s potash. The Trump Administration is working to reverse decades of consolidation by supporting new domestic manufacturing capacity and expanding competition for American farmers.

The selected FIELDS projects are expected to help reverse this trend by increasing domestic fertilizer production and strengthening competition. USDA economic analysis estimates that the additional production could reduce nitrogen fertilizer prices by 4.4% and potash prices by 5.3%, while increasing domestic nitrogen production by 3.7% and potash production by nearly 40% once the projects are operational.

The projects will support new and expanded manufacturing capacity for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur fertilizers across the United States. These investments are expected to support approximately 1.08 million tons of annual domestic fertilizer production and capacity across the selected projects.

Among the eight projects selected to move forward in the FIELDS funding process include one with a direct impact on western Indiana.​​​​The Agriculture Project Holdco – Kansas and Indiana was selected for approximately $116.9 million in proposed USDA funding toward a $360 million project to develop two fertilizer manufacturing facilities in Lewis, Kansas, and Fair Oaks, Indiana. The facilities would convert dairy manure into approximately 4,100 tons of liquid ammonium nitrate fertilizer annually, creating additional domestic fertilizer production capacity.

These selections represent an important step in the Trump Administration’s strategy to restore American fertilizer manufacturing, encourage private-sector investment, strengthen competition, and reduce the nation’s reliance on foreign suppliers of critical agricultural inputs.

Unlike previous federal fertilizer investments that struggled to reach construction and operation, FIELDS emphasizes financially viable, implementation-ready projects with committed private investment, demonstrated market demand, and measurable production outcomes.

The FIELDS Program is administered by USDA Rural Development’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service using Commodity Credit Corporation authorities.