Northern Plains Nitrogen proposal receiving more attention amid global fertilizer pressure

GRAND FORKS — The Strait of Hormuz is beginning to reopen after the June 17 signing of a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran. The reopening could eventually bring relief to farmers in North Dakota and the rest of the country who are in need of fertilizer. Meanwhile, there has been renewed interest in a years-old Grand Forks fertilizer plant proposal. ADVERTISEMENT The strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman has been largely closed since February amid the conflict between the United States, Iran and Israel. Roughly one-third of the world’s fertilizer supply has to pass through the strait, as several Gulf countries are among the biggest producers and exporters of common fertilizer ingredients like phosphate, sulfur, ammonia, urea and natural gas. The United States also imports most of its nitrogen fertilizer. Doug Goehring, North Dakota agriculture commissioner, said his department has been working with other entities — including the U.S. Department of Energy — to try and assist the farmers who need the fertilizer and the companies who have had to raise prices because of tariffs and the blockade. “We really need to be a lot more thoughtful and balance how we approach these issues. I really love agribusiness, but sometimes agribusiness does things just to protect their own market and establish a floor, and that’s just the wrong way of doing business,” he said. “I get you want to mitigate risk and volatility, but it throws it all back on us as producers, and we have no place to spread that risk to; we just have to absorb the cost.” The bulk of this year's need for fertilizer has passed, now that North Dakota's spring planting is over. However, Goehring said some farmers are still using it at this point in the growing season for top dressing — applying nitrogen fertilizer to a growing crop to supply extra nutrients. He added he expects more farmers will be buying fertilizer well ahead of time later this fall, depending on the market. “You’re going to see a lot more farmers that are going to be more proactive in watching that fertilizer market and trying to figure out how much they want to lock in for the next growing season,” he said. With pressure in the fertilizer market, a planned nitrogen fertilizer plant in Grand Forks, spearheaded by Northern Plains Nitrogen, is receiving more attention, according to Grand Forks City Administrator Todd Feland. ADVERTISEMENT “It sounds like there’s renewed support — whether it’s financial, regulatory, various kinds of support for them,” he said, “and they’re engaged with partners and working on the details and the particulars with these partners, trying to solve a way forward for the project.” The plant has been talked about for more than a decade, though a development agreement with the city has not yet been approved. The project is estimated to cost $2.2 billion. Goehring said his department and the Department of Energy have also talked with Northern Plains Nitrogen about supporting the new plant. “In fact, the Department of Energy said they have $200 billion that they can provide in low-interest loans, and … up to 80% of the project could be eligible,” he said. “Which is fantastic when you think about it, because that means the amount of capital they have to raise is only 20%, and that gets pretty favorable in this type of climate.” Feland said with the latest update, the project is going to have a smaller footprint and less production on site than previously estimated, so it will also use less water. He added that less water will mean less water vapor and, thus, less of a thermal plume being emitted. It all results in a reduced impact on nearby Grand Forks International Airport. He also said there likely will be more information to share about the project in the coming months, possibly around August. Goehring said increasing fertilizer production in the upper Midwest would also open a currently untapped market, as there aren’t any other processing plants in the region. ADVERTISEMENT “We have this huge void — this vacuum — that exists up here in a four-state area and two Canadian provinces, so there’s opportunity. It’s just a matter of getting it built,” he said. He added that another plant being developed in Louisiana — a $4 billion ammonia production facility called Blue Point Complex, by CF Industries — will hopefully take some of the pressure off the current fertilizer market. That project isn’t expected to start production until late 2029.