Soaring fertilizer prices could pressure a U.S. agricultural industry that supports 50 million jobs and over $10 trillion in output

The war in Iran could hit a heavy blow to one of the country’s largest industries, one that supports millions of livelihoods.

Now in its fourth week, the conflict has sparked the largest oil supply shock in history and sent gasoline prices soaring worldwide. But fuel products are not the only item to normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway that has essentially been blockaded for almost a month.

How the Strait of Hormuz blockade is cutting fertilizer supply

Before the war, around one-third of the global fertilizer supply chain passed through the strait, including half of the world’s urea, a nitrogen-based fertilizer vital to many modern farming operations, including in the U.S. The gaping hole in fertilizer supply is, in some ways, a more intractable challenge than the energy crunch, and comes at one of the worst possible times for American farmers.

The U.S. food and agriculture industry does a lot more than putting food on the table: It is a booming business that employs millions and accounts for a huge chunk of the country’s economic output. That value was recently quantified in a sweeping report authored by 35 industry groups and published Monday, shedding light on just how widespread an impact a sustained fertilizer shortage would have on the ...