Riverhead farmers brace for higher fertilizer, fuel costs as Middle East conflict rattles markets

As Riverhead-area farmers head into the growing season, a war half a world away is threatening to drive up the cost of the fertilizer and fuel they depend on most, adding fresh pressure to an industry already squeezed by the high cost of farming on Long Island.

The concern is not so much that local growers will be unable to get fertilizer this spring, but that they will have to pay more for it — and for the freight and fuel costs that ripple through nearly every aspect of farming.

Middle East tensions have rattled fertilizer markets just as many U.S. farmers are making or finalizing spring purchases. The American Farm Bureau Federation warned last week that countries exposed to disruption in the region account for nearly 49% of global urea exports and about 30% of global ammonia exports — key nitrogen fertilizers — underscoring the importance of the Persian Gulf region to global fertilizer supplies. Urea prices have climbed sharply in recent weeks, with Trading Economics, a publisher of economic data and commodity prices, showing the benchmark price at $610.50 per ton on March 17, up nearly 60% from a year earlier.

That global market turmoil is landing at an especially difficult time for local farmers, said Bill Zalakar, executive director of the Long Island Farm Bureau.

“Most farmers probably do not have their fertilizer on hand as of right now,” Zalakar said in an interview Tuesday. “Most farmers will start buying that in the next month or so as the weather starts to warm up a little bit.”

Zalakar said the impact here may extend beyond fertilizer itself.

“Probably even bigger than the fertilizer is just going to be the fuel and transportation cost,” he said, noting that farmers rely on diesel for tractors and other equipment and that shipping costs affect nearly everything that comes onto — and leaves — Long Island.

AAA’s Nassau-Suffolk metro average for diesel on March 17 was $5.207 a gallon, up from $3.933 a month earlier

Baiting Hollow farmer Jeff Rottkamp, a fourth-generation grower, said sweet corn still requires nitrogen, regardless of price.

“I’m going to use some nitrogen because I have to. That’s just what corn requires,” Rottkamp said. “But I’m gonna have to be careful about it and a little stingy about it.”

Rottkamp said the impact of rising fuel costs extends well beyond fertilizer.

“It’s gonna be transportation, fertilizer — everything,” he said. “Bags, boxes, tires, batteries, fertilizer, paint … everything’s connected to transportation.”

For Long Island growers, those pressures can be especially acute. Unlike farmers in other parts of the state or country, nearly everything used on East End farms must be shipped through the New York metropolitan area and onto Long Island, adding time, traffic and trucking expense.

“Long Island might be the worst place,” Rottkamp said, because of the extra time and cost required to haul materials here.

Still, a key local supplier says growers should not expect shortages, at least for now.

John Bokina, CEO of the Long Island Cauliflower Association, said the Riverhead-based farm supply company typically purchases product ahead of the season and brings in deliveries early, when possible, to prepare for spring demand and hedge against price increases.

“There will certainly be a period of increases,” Bokina said in an email today. “How long? No one knows. But Long Island Cauliflower will do their best to keep them at a minimum as always.”

Bokina said LICA does not anticipate fertilizer shortages because it is “always over-prepared before going into the season.” He said most in-season items are already in stock or have guaranteed delivery dates, though freight increases are likely as fuel prices rise. If the situation overseas persists, he said, more mid-season items could be affected.

That distinction — higher prices, but no immediate shortage — may offer some reassurance to local growers and to the broader community that still sees farming as central to Riverhead’s identity.

Even so, the added costs come at a time when many farmers are already operating on narrow margins. CME Group’s OpenMarkets reported this month that grain farmers were already facing another potentially money-losing year before the conflict in Iran triggered the latest fertilizer surge, with fertilizer, seed and chemical costs all running higher than a year ago.

Rottkamp said he had already purchased enough fertilizer in December to get started and has another truckload already committed for March. But not every grower is in the same position, and even for those who planned ahead, there is only so much room to absorb rising costs.

“With some costs going up, we’re gonna have to cut corners somewhere to help offset that balance,” he said. “Might have to raise the prices a little bit.”

Farmers have long adapted to changing markets, weather and labor conditions, often by pinching pennies and delaying expenses where they can. Rottkamp said he eases up on the tractor throttle to save fuel and stretches irrigation when conditions allow. But he said there are limits to how much can be cut without affecting production.

For a farming region like Riverhead, where agricultural heritage remains a defining part of the community even as suburban development has steadily reduced farmland, the latest spike in input costs is a reminder of how vulnerable local agriculture remains to forces far beyond the East End.

For now, the immediate threat appears to be not a lack of fertilizer, but another round of rising costs arriving at exactly the wrong moment — just as the growing season begins.