Why Fertilizer Prices Are Rising in 2026
And What Specialty Growers Can Do About It
A Q&A with Chad Yagow, Director of Agronomy, Industry Relations & Regulatory Affairs | Verdant Robotics™
Chad Yagow brings deep expertise in agronomy, input management, and regulatory affairs to his role as Director of Agronomy, Industry Relations & Regulatory Affairs at Verdant Robotics. He works directly with growers deploying SharpShooter™ across leafy greens, vegetables, herbs, other specialty crops and row crops. We sat down with him to get a field-level read on what the 2026 fertilizer market means for specialty growers and what they can actually do about it.
Fertilizer prices have been in the news a lot lately. How bad is it, really?
It’s significant. The World Bank’s April 28 Commodity Markets Outlook projects a 31% increase in fertilizer prices in 2026, led by a 60% jump in urea specifically. At retail, urea hit $858 per ton in the second week of April which is a 27% increase in a single month, according to DTN. Fertilizer affordability is at its worst level since 2022. That’s not a small thing. Growers have been managing elevated input costs for several years now, and this is another sharp move in the wrong direction.
What’s actually driving prices this high?
The immediate driver is the conflict with Iran and the resulting disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. The strait handles roughly 35% of global seaborne fertilizer trade, and the disruptions there are adding 10 to 14 days to shipping routes. That adds cost, and it adds uncertainty, and markets price in both.
But here’s what I want growers to understand: this isn’t just a Hormuz story. This disruption is landing on top of a market that was already elevated. Fertilizer prices rose 18% in 2025 before this year’s shock. We’ve had years of energy price volatility, geopolitical supply constraints, export restrictions, and trade policy instability all pressing on this market at the same time. The Strait of Hormuz triggered the latest surge. It didn’t create the underlying problem.
The situation is serious enough that a U.S. senator introduced legislation recently to remove countervailing duties on phosphate imports specifically because of what Argus Media called a “growing fertilizer affordability crisis for farmers.” That’s a meaningful signal.
Key 2026 Fertilizer Market Figures
- 31% Global fertilizer prices projected to rise in 2026 (World Bank, April 28)
- 60% Urea prices projected to increase in 2026
- $858/ton Retail urea price, second week of April — up 27% in one month (DTN)
- 35% Of global seaborne fertilizer trade through the Strait of Hormuz
- 10-14 days Added to shipping routes from Hormuz disruptions
How does this hit specialty crop growers differently than commodity producers?
It hits them harder, and they have fewer tools to absorb it. Commodity row crop producers have hedging mechanisms. They can partially offset input cost exposure through futures markets. Specialty growers largely can’t do that. They absorb input cost increases directly into their cost-per-acre structure, and they have limited ability to pass those costs downstream to buyers.
On top of that, input costs for specialty growers were already significantly elevated compared to where they were five years ago. This year’s surge is piling onto a cost base that was already painful.
What really compounds the problem, though, is how most inputs are applied. When you broadcast fertilizers, biologicals, fungicides, and insecticides across a field, a meaningful fraction of that product lands on bare soil between rows, on weed canopy, or on non-target surfaces. It doesn’t reach the crop. When fertilizer is $858 per ton, every unit that misses the target is a real, avoidable cost. That inefficiency has always been there. In this market, it’s a much bigger problem.
Let’s talk about that. You mentioned broadcast application as a specific issue. Can you explain the math?
Sure. Let’s use urea as a concrete example because the numbers are clear right now.
Foliar urea, nitrogen applied directly to crop foliage rather than through soil fertigation, is appropriate for a range of specialty crops under the right conditions. When it is appropriate, the application rate drops significantly. According to Keystone Bio Ag, fertigation typically runs 4 to 7 pounds per acre per day, while foliar application runs about 1 pound per acre per day. That's a meaningful difference in input volume, and it translates directly to cost. So being able to foliar apply rather than fertigate can result in significant savings.
Fertigation (soil-applied) Application Rate: 4 to 7 lbs per acre per day
Foliar Application Rate: 1 lb per acre per day
Source: Keystone Bio Ag
Now layer in the precision piece. When crops are young, foliage typically accounts for 20% or less of the field area. If you’re broadcasting foliar urea across the entire field, 80% or more of it is landing on soil, weeds, and empty space, not on the crop. Apply it only where the foliage actually is, and you pick up another 80% reduction in effective applied rate.
At current urea prices, that math works out to roughly $1.50 to $3.00 per acre in direct savings. That’s urea alone, one input, one application window.
That’s where the SharpShooter™ comes in. How does the system actually solve this?
The SharpShooter™ is the only precision application system that aims before it applies. When it comes to foliar inputs, fertilizers, biologicals, fungicides, and insecticides, the system applies product directly to the crop. Not to the soil between rows. Not to the weed canopy. Not to bare ground. To the plant.
The way Aim & Apply™ technology works: the system sees each plant, decides what to do, and applies only where needed. In real time, at the plant level.
Detect. Track. Apply. Verify.
That’s not just a marketing line, it’s literally how the system operates.
Broadcast Application
- Product distributed across the entire field width
- Inputs land everywhere, including non-target surfaces
- Every acre receives full input volume on non-target surfaces.
SharpShooter™ Precision Application
- Inputs applied only on the crop
- Application based on the plant, not the field
- In young crops with minimal foliage coverage, effective input volume drops proportionally
Same agronomic outcome. A fraction of the input volume. In this fertilizer market, that difference matters.
Is this just a urea story, or does it apply to other inputs?
It applies across everything going through the system. Regardless of whether its biologicals, fungicides, insecticides, or herbicides, the same logic holds. Product that lands on bare soil or non-target surfaces is product paid for and wasted. When input costs across every category are elevated, broadcast inefficiency compounds across every pass and every acre.
Growers are looking at a cost environment where every input is expensive, and the structural drivers don’t look like they’re resolving quickly. Precision application gives them a lever they can actually control, which is where the input lands. That’s not a small thing when you can’t control what the market does to price.
What’s the bottom line for specialty growers trying to manage this?
First, I want to acknowledge that this is a genuinely difficult cost environment, and growers who can't make major changes to their input program this season shouldn't feel alone in that. But fertilizer has always been a volatile expense — energy markets, geopolitical disruptions, trade policy — these forces have shaped input costs for decades, and they'll continue to do so. What this year is reminding us of is that volatility is the normal condition, not the exception. So even if you can't act right now, it's worth asking going into next season: how much of what I'm spending is actually reaching the crop? Broadcast application has always had inefficiency built into it. Precision application is how you start future-proofing your operation against the next cycle — and with SharpShooter™, that's a change you can build a real return on.
In today’s fertilizer market, precision is not incidental to the value proposition. It is the value proposition.
Quick Reference: Fertilizer Prices & Precision Application in 2026
Why are fertilizer prices rising so fast in 2026?
The primary driver is the conflict with Iran and the resulting disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, which handles approximately 35% of global seaborne fertilizer trade. Shipping disruptions are adding 10 to 14 days to routes and raising landed costs globally. This is compounding a market that was already elevated: fertilizer prices rose 18% in 2025 before this year’s shock.
How high is the price of urea in 2026?
Retail urea reached $858 per ton in the second week of April 2026, a 27% increase in a single month (DTN). The World Bank projects urea prices to rise 60% over the full year.
What is foliar urea application and how does it reduce costs?
Foliar urea is nitrogen applied directly to crop foliage rather than through soil fertigation. Application rates drop from 4 to 7 lbs per acre per day (fertigation) to 1 lb per acre per day (foliar). When crops are young and foliage covers 20% or less of field area, precision foliar application can reduce the effective applied rate by up to 80% compared to broadcast.
How does precision application reduce fertilizer costs for specialty crop growers?
Precision application systems like SharpShooter™ apply inputs directly to crop foliage rather than distributing them across the entire field width. When foliage covers a small fraction of the field, the majority of broadcast product lands on bare soil, weeds, or non-target surfaces. Precision application eliminates that waste. At current urea prices, this can translate to approximately $1.50 to $3.00 per acre in direct cost savings.
What is SharpShooter™?
SharpShooter™, made by Verdant Robotics™, is the only precision application system for specialty crops that aims before it applies using Aim & Apply™ technology. The system detects individual plants in real time and delivers inputs only to confirmed targets, including foliar fertilizers, biologicals, and crop protection products, across 30+ specialty crops.
