The US Department of Agriculture launched a $500 million programme on 1 July to expand fertilizer manufacturing inside the United States, saying the aim is a more reliable supply and lower input costs for American farmers.

The Fertilizer Investment and Expansion for Long-Term Domestic Supply programme, known as FIELDS, is administered by USDA Rural Development's Rural Business-Cooperative Service and funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation. It will support the construction and expansion of plants producing nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulphur and other crop nutrients.

Individual awards will range from $15 million to $150 million. The department says it will prioritise projects that are shovel-ready and financially viable, judging applications on construction timelines and measurable production outcomes rather than on intent.

That emphasis follows a review of more than 120 fertilizer projects inherited from the previous administration. The department worked with developers, lenders and farmers to identify what had stopped construction and financing, and says only 6 per cent of the earlier stated goal was built.

"For decades, American farmers were forced to rely on unstable foreign suppliers for one of the most important inputs needed to feed our nation," said Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins. "Farm security is national security."

The programme sits alongside other moves on fertilizer: countervailing duties on phosphate imports were suspended, phosphate and potash were designated critical minerals, and the department signed a memorandum with the Department of Justice on anti-competitive practices in agricultural input markets. It has also appointed its first agricultural economist dedicated to fertilizer and crop inputs.

Applications close at 11:59 p.m. on 15 August 2026 through Grants.gov, with eligibility requirements published by USDA Rural Development.

Source: USDA