How Rising Fertilizer Costs Are Forcing Farmers Like Jolene Riessen to Lose Generational Land
Jolene Riessen checks corn prices six times a day. Sometimes that isn’t enough.
She farms 530 acres in Iowa that her family has worked for 85 years. Up four cents at two o’clock, down two cents at closing. This spring she did the math and came up $58,000 short. That doesn’t include the equipment she may have to sell. It doesn’t include the ground.
“That’s my legacy that I’m selling,” she said.
I’ve carried that word my whole life. Legacy.
My father worked land in Illinois he’d never own — tenant ground, somebody else’s deed, somebody else’s name on the gate. He poured himself into soil that would never legally hold his name. I watched him do it. I watched what it cost him. So when Jolene Riessen talks about legacy, I don’t need anybody to explain what she means.
What Is Causing the Fertilizer Crisis in America?
She didn’t start the war with Iran. She can’t open the Strait of Hormuz. She never voted on the tariffs that spent a decade squeezing her margins before the bombs fell. But she stands in the field at dawn.
Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz. A third of the world’s fertilizer moves through that channel. When it shut, nitrogen fertilizer prices jumped 20 to 50 percent. In Iowa, that hit at $250 a ton. In two days, Jolene’s fertilizer bill climbed $13,000.
“What pot does that come out of?”
Why Farmers Can’t Control Rising Costs
None of those costs move. Fertilizer price — she can’t control it. Fuel price — she can’t control it. The planting window doesn’t wait. She bought at the high price because no other choice existed.
How Rising Fertilizer Costs Push Farms to the Edge
Jolene Riessen didn’t lose $58,000 by mismanaging anything. She lost it because a war tied to President Donald Trump hit at the worst possible time, in the worst possible place.
Lower yields push prices up. What farmers absorb, consumers pay. The math doesn’t stop at the field’s edge.
What Happens When Farmers Lose Their Land?
American farmers have fed this country through every crisis. But now, rising costs and distant decisions are pushing families toward the edge.
What Jolene loses isn’t a number. It’s 85 years.
Some people work land they’ll never own. Some people own land they’re about to lose.
Fertilizer Blues: Why This Became a Song
The blues was built for exactly this. It doesn’t fix anything. It just tells the truth and stays with it.
Fertilizer Blues Lyrics
Mississippi Delta + Chicago Blues — 55 BPM — slide guitar, sparse harmonica, live room feel
[Intro - spoken, free time, no instruments] Mmmmm… something wrong… with this dirt… ain’t the same… as it was… [Instrumental - slow slide guitar riff enters, very sparse] [Verse 1] Woke up… somethin’ already wrong… fertilizer… done gone… sky high… Yeah… same mornin’… that figure… had teeth in it… By the time… I hit that field… couldn’t even start… Mmmmm… prices risin’… like trouble… in the night… I’m plantin’ debt… every row… every line… [Instrumental - riff response, light harmonica] [Verse 2] Thirteeeen thousand dollars… and not a seed in the ground… Yeah that money gone… ‘fore the plow come around… Banker talkin’ numbers… like I ain’t even there… He don’t walk this dirt… don’t hear what’s buried here… [Break - no instruments, free time] This land been mine… longer than I been alive… [Silence] [Chorus] I got them… fertiliiiiizer bluessss… knockin’… on my door… Fertilizer blues… where my daddy stood before… Plantin’ in this dirt… but it don’t call my name no more… If it don’t let up… I won’t hold what I own… [Instrumental - slow riff, minimal harp] [Break - spoken, stripped, very sparse guitar] Bank man smiled… like he already owned it… said sign right here… I signed my name… but it didn’t feel like mine… felt like his… [Final Chorus - heavier but still slow] I got them fertiliiiiizer bluessss… draggin’ down my soul… Fertilizer blues… ain’t leavin’ me no home… Plantin’ everything… just to lose what I own… [Outro - very sparse, fading] fertilizer blues… still knockin’… ain’t nobody home…
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are fertilizer prices rising?
Fertilizer prices are rising due to global conflict, supply disruptions, and energy costs.
How do fertilizer costs affect farmers?
They reduce profit margins and increase financial pressure, often forcing difficult decisions.
How does this affect food prices?
Higher farming costs lead to higher prices for consumers.
