Congresswoman Ashley Hinson questioned U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins before the House Appropriations Ag-FDA Subcommittee on April 17, advocating for more transparency and competition in fertilizer markets, as well as continued support for Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices that assist Iowa farmers.
The discussion comes at a time when many farmers are facing high input costs and concerns about consolidation in the fertilizer industry. Hinson said these issues are affecting her constituents, emphasizing the need to address rising prices and limited competition.
“Thank you, Madam Secretary, for being here. I appreciated your comments about E-15. We love that access to that market, and our farmers need that help,” Hinson said during the hearing. She continued, “Of course, you talked about it—it is a tough time for the farm economy right now, and it is under real strain…fertilizer prices obviously continue to be top of mind for our farmers in Iowa. Many of the concerns that I’m hearing from my folks back home are about consolidation in the fertilizer industry. A few companies are dominating the market.” Hinson also raised concerns over facility idling by major producers: “And then, of course, we see someone like Mosaic say, ‘Hey, we’re going to idle these facilities,’ at a time when our farmers are paying through the roof for these input prices. I just don’t think that’s right.” She added her support for bipartisan legislation aiming to improve price transparency: “We know this isn’t a problem that happened overnight—you acknowledged that in your opening statement as well. I think we do need to take some quick action here to make sure we’re improving price transparency around fertilizer in those markets…We have a piece of legislation that would force some transparency in this—a bipartisan, bicameral Fertilizer…Transparency Act—so we can get those numbers out weekly.”
Turning attention to FSA offices vital to local agriculture communities amid budget pressures, Hinson said: “Really quickly…you already touched on…how important those [FSA offices] are to our farmers on the ground. I think we need to make sure that as we are looking at a very very tough budget year,0that we’re not cutting back on those services to our farmers.” She asked Rollins how she plans to ensure adequate staffing remains available.
Secretary Brooke Rollins responded: “I think of all the things we do,0I’m not sure that there’s anything more important than making sure that we have an on-the-ground team0that can do everything they can0to help these farmers move the funding through and access0the programs0that they need.”
Ashley Hinson has represented Iowa’s 2nd district since replacing Abby Finkenauer in 2021 according to Ballotpedia. She previously served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2017 until joining Congress as reported by Congress.gov. Born in Des Moines in 1983 and currently residing in Marion according to her official biography, Hinson graduated from University of Southern California with a Bachelor’s degree as noted by Wikipedia.
The exchange highlights ongoing legislative efforts aimed at reducing costs faced by agricultural producers while maintaining essential federal support services.
