(SPRINGFIELD) The Federal Trade Commission launched an antitrust investigation into the concentrated fertilizer industry and its pricing power, mostly because the USDA has shown the single largest increase in input costs for nationwide farmers since 2020 has come from fertilizer. While higher prices “do not always mean” illegal activity, the FTC says it cannot rule out the possibility of anti-competitive action in the fertilizer industry. The Justice Department previously initiated a separate probe into potential anti-competitive practices of fertilizer companies.
