Reviewed September 2026 against USGS Minerals Commodity Summaries, USDA farmdoc daily, and USDA AMS Agricultural Transportation data.

US Fertilizer Production: Output, Producers & Prices

“US nitrogen fertilizer production reached roughly 20 million metric tonnes in 2023, while phosphate rock mine production totaled 19.8 million metric tonnes the same year, per USGS.”

Introduction: What US Fertilizer Production Actually Looks Like

US fertilizer production is concentrated, energy-intensive, and only partly self-sufficient. Domestic plants produced roughly 20 million metric tonnes of nitrogen fertilizer in 2023, according to USDA-referenced industry data compiled by farmdoc daily, and total US fertilizer production capacity across nitrogen, phosphate, and potash stood at 22.7 million nutrient tonnes in 2024. That capacity is not evenly spread across a competitive field — a small number of companies control most of it, and that concentration is the reason US fertilizer prices move the way they do.

This article answers three specific questions: how much fertilizer the US actually produces, which companies produce it and how much of the market they control, and what farmers and buyers are paying right now for the three major nutrient types. Every figure below carries the year it was measured and a link to the agency or publication that measured it, so you can verify it or pull the more current number yourself.

Key Numbers at a Glance:
US nitrogen fertilizer production: ~20 million metric tonnes (2023). US phosphate rock mine production: 19.8 million metric tonnes (2023). Total US N+P+K production capacity: 22.7 million nutrient tonnes (2024). US fertilizer imports (all types): 27 million tonnes (2024).

US Fertilizer Production by Nutrient: The Numbers

US fertilizer production splits across three nutrient categories, and nitrogen dominates by volume. Nitrogen fertilizers accounted for 59% of total US fertilizer consumption on a volume basis, averaged over 2006–2023, according to USDA NASS and Agricultural Census data cited by farmdoc daily. That share reflects both the nitrogen demands of corn — the single largest US row crop by planted acreage — and the fact that nitrogen, unlike phosphate and potash, must be reapplied every season rather than drawn down from soil reserves.

Domestic nitrogen production of roughly 20 million metric tonnes in 2023 relies on ammonia synthesis, which uses natural gas as both a feedstock and an energy source — typically 70–80% of the cash cost of producing a tonne of ammonia is the natural gas input, which is why nitrogen fertilizer prices track US natural gas prices more closely than they track crop prices. Phosphate fertilizer production starts with mined phosphate rock: the US produced 19.8 million metric tonnes of phosphate rock in 2023, per the USGS Minerals Commodity Summaries. Potash (potassium chloride) production figures in absolute tonnes were not located in the sources reviewed for this article — see the refresh method section below for where to check the current volume.

Core Inputs and Outputs in US Fertilizer Manufacturing

🔋 Energy: Natural gas is the primary feedstock and cost driver for nitrogen (ammonia) production; electricity — sometimes coal-derived — powers granulation, blending, and phosphate/potash processing.
🧪 Chemical feedstocks: Ammonia (nitrogen), phosphate rock (phosphate), and potash ore (potassium chloride).
🌱 Finished products: Urea, ammonium nitrate, DAP (diammonium phosphate), MAP (monoammonium phosphate), MOP (muriate of potash), and NPK blends supplied to farms and retailers.
Try it: Run your own numbers

Common Mistake:
Assuming US farms run mostly on imported fertilizer. In practice, domestic production covers a large share of nitrogen and nearly all of the country’s phosphate rock supply — imports fill specific gaps, particularly in potash, where the US relies heavily on Canadian supply. See the imports section below for the 2024 total.

US Fertilizer Producers: Who Actually Makes It

Four companies account for most of US fertilizer manufacturing capacity, each specialized in a different nutrient or region. CF Industries is the largest US nitrogen producer, with plants concentrated in Louisiana, Iowa, and Oklahoma. Nutrien operates across nitrogen, phosphate, and potash, with US nitrogen and phosphate assets in Louisiana and Iowa alongside its Canadian potash mines. Mosaic Company is the dominant US phosphate producer, with mining and processing concentrated in Florida’s Bone Valley district and additional operations in Louisiana. Koch Fertilizer runs nitrogen production in Oklahoma and Texas.

These four are not equally sized competitors in a fragmented market — the next section quantifies exactly how concentrated each nutrient segment is, because that concentration is what determines how much pricing power any single disruption (a plant outage, a gas price spike, a trade dispute) has over the whole US market.

Market Concentration: Why a Handful of Companies Set the Price

US fertilizer producers are concentrated to a degree few other agricultural input sectors match. CF Industries controls 40% of North American nitrogen production capacity, according to Farm Action’s analysis of DOJ filings and industry data compiled in 2024. On the phosphate side, Mosaic mines 64% of US phosphate rock, per the USGS Minerals Commodity Summaries for 2023, and Mosaic’s share of North American phosphate fertilizer manufacturing specifically — not just rock mining — reaches 80%, according to Farm Action’s concentration data. In potash, Nutrien controls 55–60% of North American potassium chloride mining capacity as of 2024, per farmdoc daily’s analysis of Nutrien company filings.

What that means in practice: a single company’s plant outage, labor dispute, or maintenance shutdown in phosphate or potash can move US prices nationally, because there is no large pool of alternative domestic suppliers to absorb the gap. This is the structural reason fertilizer price spikes tend to be sharp and sustained rather than smoothed out by competition — and it is worth checking a producer’s latest 10-K or the sources below before assuming today’s concentration numbers still hold, since consolidation in this sector has continued to move in one direction over the past decade.

📊 Data Insight:
Phosphate fertilizer manufacturing is the most concentrated segment of the three — an 80% share sitting with one company is higher than nitrogen’s 40% or potash’s 55–60%, meaning phosphate buyers have the least pricing leverage of the three nutrient markets.

Current US Fertilizer Prices: Urea, DAP, and Potash

US urea spot prices averaged $492 per ton in 2025, according to DTN’s agribusiness price reporting. DAP (diammonium phosphate) averaged $851 per ton in early 2026, per USDA-referenced market reporting summarized on Farmonaut’s fertilizer price tracker. Potash (MOP, muriate of potash) averaged $443 per ton in 2025, also per DTN market data.

These three figures span more than $400 per ton between the cheapest (potash) and most expensive (DAP) nutrient source, which is the direct result of the concentration differences described above: DAP sits in the most concentrated segment (Mosaic’s 80% phosphate manufacturing share) and correspondingly commands the highest per-ton price of the three.

What Drives These Prices Season to Season

🔋 Natural gas cost: Directly sets the floor for urea and other nitrogen products, since gas is both feedstock and fuel for ammonia synthesis.
🚢 Import dependency: Products the US imports in volume — potash in particular — are exposed to ocean freight rates and exporting-country policy.
🌾 Planting-season demand: Spring application windows concentrate demand into a few months, which is when prices historically peak.

Pro Tip:
DTN ProfitGuard and USDA ERS both publish fertilizer price series on a rolling basis. Because urea, DAP, and potash prices shift within a single growing season, treat the figures above as a March 2026 snapshot and check DTN’s fertilizer price page before locking in a purchase decision.

Fertilizer Imports: The Gap Domestic Production Doesn’t Cover

The US imported 27 million tonnes of fertilizer across all types in 2024, according to USDA AMS Agricultural Transportation data. Set against domestic nitrogen production of roughly 20 million metric tonnes and total N+P+K production capacity of 22.7 million nutrient tonnes, that import volume shows the US is a substantial net importer on a combined-nutrient basis — imports are not a marginal top-up, they are a structural piece of the supply.

Potash is the clearest case: with no major operating US potash mines at the scale of Canadian production, the US relies on imports — primarily from Canada — to meet the bulk of potash demand, which is consistent with Nutrien’s 55–60% North American potash market share sitting largely on the Canadian side of the border rather than the US side.

Nitrogen Cost Calculator

Nitrogen is 59% of US fertilizer consumption by volume and its price tracks natural gas directly — use the calculator below to estimate your own farm’s nitrogen spend at a given urea price and application rate, rather than relying on a national average that may not match your acreage or crop.

Interactive

Run your own numbers

Acres to be fertilized (acres):

Nitrogen application rate (lb N per acre):

Urea price ($ per ton):

Estimated total nitrogen cost: calculating…

Assumptions: uses urea's standard 46% nitrogen content to convert a lb-N-per-acre target into tons of urea product, then multiplies by the urea price you enter. It excludes freight, application cost, blending fees, and any nitrogen contribution from other sources (manure, legume credits, starter fertilizer). Enter your local urea quote for the most accurate estimate — the default price reflects the 2025 US average reported by DTN.

Why Fertilizer Production Tracks Natural Gas and Coal-Fired Power

Ammonia synthesis — the first step in making nitrogen fertilizer — uses natural gas as its hydrogen source through steam methane reforming, which is why nitrogen fertilizer plants are among the most energy-intensive manufacturing facilities in the US industrial base. Phosphate and potash processing (crushing, beneficiation, granulation) is less feedstock-tied to gas but still depends on a stable electricity supply, some of it drawn from coal-fired generation in regions where coal remains part of the local grid mix.

🔋 Energy price fluctuations: A rise in natural gas prices flows through to urea and ammonium nitrate prices within one to two production cycles, since gas is both feedstock and fuel.
🌾 Yield management: Reliable, predictably priced nitrogen supply lets farmers plan nutrient management programs rather than rationing applications to a volatile market.
📦 Regional economic stability: Counties hosting large nitrogen or phosphate plants — in Louisiana, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas, and Florida — see concentrated employment and tax-base effects tied directly to plant utilization rates.

Investor Note:
Because nitrogen fertilizer cost is so closely tied to natural gas, US Gulf Coast nitrogen plants — with direct access to shale gas supply — have a structural cost advantage over fertilizer producers in gas-importing regions of the world. That advantage is a standing feature of US production, not a one-year event.

"CF Industries controls 40% of North American nitrogen production capacity; Mosaic mines 64% of US phosphate rock and holds an 80% share of North American phosphate fertilizer manufacturing."

Phosphate and Potash Mining: The Feedstock Side

Fertilizer production for phosphate and potash begins as a mining operation, not a chemical plant. Phosphate rock mining in the US is concentrated in Florida's Bone Valley district and parts of Louisiana, where Mosaic operates the majority of active mines. The 19.8 million metric tonnes of US phosphate rock production reported by USGS for 2023 comes almost entirely from that concentrated geography — there is no comparably sized phosphate mining district elsewhere in the country.

For companies evaluating new phosphate, potash, or other mineral feedstock deposits, the same remote-sensing techniques used in metal and coal exploration apply to fertilizer mineral feedstocks. Farmonaut's satellite-based mineral detection platform screens large areas for mineral signatures before any ground survey is committed, which is directly relevant to phosphate and potash exploration given how geographically concentrated US production already is — new deposit identification matters more in a market with this few active mining districts.

🚚 Corridors and logistics: Phosphate and potash mining regions require rail and port infrastructure capable of moving bulk mineral tonnage to fertilizer manufacturing plants and export terminals.
➕ Ancillary industry growth: Chemical processing and granulation plants cluster near mine sites to minimize the cost of moving raw phosphate rock or potash ore before conversion to finished fertilizer.
💼 Labor and skills: Mining and processing operations bring skilled technical employment to rural Florida, Louisiana, and Gulf Coast communities.

🌎 Special Highlight:
Planning early-stage mineral exploration relevant to fertilizer feedstocks or other resources? Map Your Mining Site Here with Farmonaut to screen prospectivity before committing to ground surveys.

Comparison Table: Leading US Fertilizer Producers

The table below compares the four companies that account for most US fertilizer manufacturing capacity, by nutrient specialization, primary region, and documented market share.

Company	Primary Nutrient(s)	Primary US/Region	Documented Market Share	Basis and Year
CF Industries	Nitrogen	Louisiana, Iowa, Oklahoma	40% of North American nitrogen production capacity	Farm Action / DOJ filings, 2024
Mosaic Company	Phosphate	Florida, Louisiana	64% of US phosphate rock production; 80% of North American phosphate fertilizer manufacturing	USGS, 2023; Farm Action concentration data, 2024
Nutrien	Potash, nitrogen, phosphate	Louisiana, Iowa (US); Saskatchewan (potash)	55–60% of North American potash mining capacity	farmdoc daily / Nutrien filings, 2024
Koch Fertilizer	Nitrogen	Oklahoma, Texas	Not separately reported in sources reviewed for this article	See refresh method below

How to read this table:
Market share figures here are nutrient-specific and not directly additive across rows — CF Industries' 40% nitrogen share and Mosaic's 80% phosphate manufacturing share describe two different product markets, not two slices of one pie.

How to Get the Current Numbers Yourself

Every figure in this article carries a source and a year because fertilizer production, prices, and market share all move on different schedules — and a durable article needs to tell you how to refresh each one rather than pretend the numbers are permanent.

Phosphate rock production: USGS publishes the Minerals Commodity Summaries annually, typically in November, with the prior year's finalized production volumes. Check there for a more current phosphate rock tonnage than the 2023 figure cited above.
Fertilizer consumption and prices: USDA ERS maintains fertilizer data products at ers.usda.gov/data-products, and DTN's ProfitGuard fertilizer price reporting updates on a rolling basis at dtnpf.com — both are more current than any snapshot printed here.
Import volumes: USDA AMS Agricultural Transportation updates monthly shipment data by commodity at the agtransport.usda.gov fertilizer imports dashboard, useful for tracking seasonal import patterns beyond the 2024 annual total cited above.

Two figures could not be confirmed from the sources reviewed for this piece and are flagged rather than estimated: current US potash production in absolute tonnes (market share data exists, but a production-volume figure was not located), and capacity utilization rates for US fertilizer plants (the 22.7 million nutrient tonne capacity ceiling is documented, but actual output as a percentage of that ceiling is not). Both should be checked directly against USGS and USDA ERS releases before being cited as current.

Satellite Intelligence for Fertilizer Feedstock Exploration

At Farmonaut, our satellite-based mineral detection and AI-driven prospectivity mapping apply directly to the mineral feedstocks behind fertilizer production — phosphate rock, potash, and other industrial minerals. By analyzing electromagnetic signatures from space, we enable faster, non-invasive mineral targeting before any ground deployment is committed.

✔ Accelerated exploration: Screening large regions for mineral prospectivity in days rather than months, lowering initial project costs before ground crews are mobilized.
✔ Environmental stewardship: Zero ground disturbance during early-phase screening, eliminating unnecessary drilling and its associated emissions.
✔ Multi-mineral detection: Intelligence across precious, base, industrial, battery, and rare earth minerals — including phosphate and potash-relevant deposit types.

Our Premium reports include heatmaps, estimated mineral locations, and 3D structural models delivered in GIS-compatible formats. For drilling-target-focused work, our satellite-driven 3D mineral prospectivity mapping sample equips exploration teams with recommended target angles and reduced drilling risk.

✨ Cost reduction: Cut exploration costs by up to 85%, freeing capital for infrastructure and capacity-building.
🌍 Global reach: Over 80,000 hectares analyzed across 18+ countries, adaptable to diverse geological settings.
🔗 Simple workflow: Submit coordinates or area polygons and target minerals; receive detailed mineral intelligence within 5–20 business days.

Ready to evaluate a mineral feedstock or mining project? Get Quote and explore your project with satellite-driven geospatial intelligence.

Planning your next exploration or mine expansion? Map Your Mining Site Here.

Questions about coal production alongside fertilizer feedstocks? See our companion analysis of the top US coal mining companies. For anything else, Contact Us.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much fertilizer does the US produce?

US nitrogen fertilizer production totaled roughly 20 million metric tonnes in 2023, and total US fertilizer production capacity across nitrogen, phosphate, and potash was 22.7 million nutrient tonnes in 2024, according to farmdoc daily's analysis of USDA and industry data. Phosphate rock mine production — the feedstock for phosphate fertilizer — was 19.8 million metric tonnes in 2023, per USGS.

Who are the largest US fertilizer producers?

CF Industries leads nitrogen production with 40% of North American capacity. Mosaic Company dominates phosphate, mining 64% of US phosphate rock and holding 80% of North American phosphate fertilizer manufacturing. Nutrien controls 55–60% of North American potash mining capacity. Koch Fertilizer also produces nitrogen fertilizer from Oklahoma and Texas plants, though its specific market share was not separately reported in the sources reviewed here.

What is the current price of urea, DAP, and potash in the US?

Urea averaged $492 per ton in 2025, DAP averaged $851 per ton in early 2026, and potash (MOP) averaged $443 per ton in 2025, according to DTN's agribusiness price reporting. These prices shift with natural gas costs, import volumes, and seasonal planting demand, so check DTN's fertilizer price page for the current figure before purchasing.

Does the US import fertilizer, or is it self-sufficient?

The US imported 27 million tonnes of fertilizer across all types in 2024, per USDA AMS Agricultural Transportation data. The US covers most of its own nitrogen and phosphate rock needs domestically but relies heavily on imports — primarily from Canada — for potash, since it lacks large-scale domestic potash mining comparable to Nutrien's Saskatchewan operations.

Why does nitrogen fertilizer make up most of US fertilizer use?

Nitrogen accounted for 59% of total US fertilizer consumption by volume, averaged over 2006–2023, according to USDA NASS and Agricultural Census data. Nitrogen must be reapplied every growing season because it doesn't persist in soil the way phosphate and potash reserves can, and it is required in large quantities by corn — the largest US row crop by planted acreage.

How does Farmonaut support fertilizer feedstock exploration?

Farmonaut's satellite-based, AI-driven mineral intelligence screens large areas for phosphate, potash, and other mineral feedstock prospectivity before ground crews are deployed, cutting exploration costs by up to 85% and eliminating early-phase ground disturbance.

Conclusion

US fertilizer production is measurable, concentrated, and tightly linked to energy markets: roughly 20 million metric tonnes of nitrogen and 19.8 million metric tonnes of phosphate rock in 2023, a 22.7 million nutrient tonne total capacity ceiling in 2024, and a supply chain where four companies — CF Industries, Mosaic, Nutrien, and Koch Fertilizer — hold the majority of manufacturing capacity in their respective nutrient segments. Prices reflect that concentration and the underlying cost of natural gas: $492/ton urea, $851/ton DAP, and $443/ton potash are the 2025–2026 reference points, not fixed numbers — check the USDA and DTN sources above for what they've moved to since.

For mineral feedstock exploration relevant to phosphate, potash, or other fertilizer inputs, Farmonaut's satellite-based mineral detection platform gives resource planners and mining companies a way to screen prospectivity before committing to ground surveys.

Bottom line:
Fertilizer market concentration (40–80% depending on nutrient) means a single producer's plant disruption can move national prices — track USGS, USDA ERS, and DTN directly rather than relying on any single year's snapshot, including this one.

✔ Nitrogen production: ~20 million metric tonnes (2023), 59% of US fertilizer consumption by volume.
✔ Phosphate rock production: 19.8 million metric tonnes (2023), 64% mined by Mosaic.
✔ Total production capacity: 22.7 million nutrient tonnes (2024).
✔ Imports: 27 million tonnes across all fertilizer types (2024).
🌐 Satellite-driven mineral intelligence is reshaping how fertilizer feedstock deposits get explored and prioritized.

For advanced mineral intelligence and resource mapping, connect with Farmonaut today.
Map Your Mining Site Here |
Get Quote |
Contact Us

Earn Money