Bill Summary
The **Fertilizer Transparency Act of 2026** amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish a mandatory price reporting program for fertilizers in the United States. The key objectives of this legislation are to enhance market transparency, improve accessibility to accurate pricing information for farmers and market participants, and foster competition within the fertilizer industry.
Key provisions include:
1. **Definitions**: The Act defines key terms, such as "affiliate," "cooperative," "retailer," and "wholesaler," to clarify the entities involved in the fertilizer market.
2. **Establishment of Reporting Program**: The Secretary of Agriculture is tasked with creating a program that requires manufacturers and wholesalers to report prices and quantities of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers weekly.
3. **Exemptions**: Cooperatives and non-manufacturer retailers are exempt from mandatory reporting but can voluntarily submit information.
4. **Public Disclosure**: The Secretary is required to make reported information publicly available at least weekly, ensuring it is categorized by domestic and foreign manufacturers.
5. **Retail Surveys**: The Act mandates regular surveys of retail fertilizer prices to provide state and regional price estimates.
6. **Data Confidentiality**: Measures are included to protect the confidentiality of business information gathered through this reporting.
7. **Antitrust Compliance**: The Act clarifies that it does not alter existing antitrust laws.
Overall, the legislation aims to provide farmers with the tools to make informed decisions while promoting fairness and competition within the fertilizer market.
Possible Impacts
The "Fertilizer Transparency Act of 2026" could significantly impact various stakeholders in the agricultural sector. Here are three examples of how this legislation might affect people:
1. **Farmers**: The mandatory price reporting program for fertilizer will provide farmers with timely, accurate, and reliable market information. This transparency can help farmers make more informed decisions about purchasing fertilizers, potentially allowing them to secure better prices and improve their profit margins. Enhanced market information could also lead to more effective budgeting and planning, which can be crucial for the financial health of farming operations.
2. **Fertilizer Manufacturers and Wholesalers**: Manufacturers and wholesalers will be required to report prices and quantities of fertilizers weekly, which could lead to increased administrative burdens for these businesses. However, the mandatory reporting could also promote fair competition within the industry by ensuring all market participants have access to the same information. This transparency could help smaller manufacturers compete more effectively against larger firms, potentially leveling the playing field.
3. **Consumers**: Although the legislation primarily focuses on the agricultural sector, consumers could indirectly benefit from the price transparency in fertilizers. As farmers potentially reduce their fertilizer costs due to better-informed purchasing decisions, this could lead to lower prices for agricultural products. Additionally, the increased competition in the fertilizer market may foster innovation and improvements in product quality, ultimately benefiting consumers who rely on these agricultural outputs.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8104 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8104
To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish a
mandatory price reporting program for fertilizer, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 26, 2026
Mr. Johnson of South Dakota (for himself, Ms. Craig, Mr. Finstad, Ms.
Davids of Kansas, Mrs. Miller-Meeks, Ms. Budzinski, Mrs. Hinson, Mr.
Riley of New York, Mr. Feenstra, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, and Mr.
Sorensen) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish a
mandatory price reporting program for fertilizer, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fertilizer Transparency Act of
2026''.
SEC. 2. FERTILIZER MANDATORY REPORTING.
Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 210B. FERTILIZER MANDATORY REPORTING.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Affiliate.--The term `affiliate' means, with respect
to a manufacturer or wholesaler (excluding a cooperative), a
person that directly or indirectly owns, controls, or holds,
with voting power, not less than 5 percent of the outstanding
voting securities of the manufacturer or wholesaler (excluding
a cooperative).
``(2) Cooperative.--
``(A) In general.--The term `cooperative' means--
``(i) an association of agricultural
producers acting pursuant to--
``(I) the Act entitled `An Act to
authorize association of producers of
agricultural products' (commonly known
as the `Capper-Volstead Act') (7 U.S.C.
291 et seq.);
``(II) the Agricultural Adjustment
Act (7 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), reenacted
with amendments by the Agricultural
Marketing Agreement Act of 1937; or
``(III) the Act of July 2, 1926
(commonly known as the `Cooperative
Marketing Act') (7 U.S.C. 451 et seq.);
``(ii) a farmers' cooperative organization
described in subsection (b)(1) of section 521
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt
from taxation under subsection (a) of that
section; and
``(iii) an association of agricultural
producers otherwise operating on a cooperative
basis for the benefit of its members.
``(B) Inclusions.--The term `cooperative' includes
any entity not less than 25 percent of which is owned
by a cooperative, as defined in subparagraph (A).
``(3) Marketed.--The term `marketed' means the sale or
other disposition in commerce of--
``(A) nitrogen, phosphorous, or potassium for use
as fertilizer; or
``(B) a fertilizer product.
``(4) Retailer.--The term `retailer' means a person or
entity that primarily sells fertilizer products at retail.
``(5) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
``(6) Wholesaler.--The term `wholesaler' means any person
or entity, not including a cooperative, engaged in the business
of buying and selling fertilizer or fertilizer products for
resale or distribution.
``(b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program of
fertilizer and fertilizer product price information reporting that
will--
``(1) provide timely, accurate, and reliable market
information that can be readily understood by farmers and
market participants;
``(2) facilitate more informed marketing decisions; and
``(3) promote competition in the fertilizer and fertilizer
products industry.
``(c) General Reporting Provisions Applicable to Manufacturers,
Wholesalers, and the Secretary.--Whenever the prices or quantities of
fertilizer or fertilizer products are required to be reported or
published under this section, the prices or quantities shall be
categorized so as to clearly delineate--
``(1) the prices or quantities, as applicable, of the
fertilizer or fertilizer product marketed in the United States
by a domestic manufacturer or wholesaler or an affiliate of a
domestic manufacturer or wholesaler; and
``(2) the prices or quantities, as applicable, of the
fertilizer or fertilizer product marketed in the United States
by a foreign manufacturer or wholesaler or an affiliate of a
foreign manufacturer or wholesaler.
``(d) Weekly Reporting.--
``(1) Nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.--The corporate
officers or officially designated representatives of each
manufacturer or wholesaler of nitrogen, phosphorous, or
potassium for use as fertilizer shall report to the Secretary
at least weekly--
``(A) the prices, as marketed, for nitrogen,
phosphorous, or potassium, as applicable; and
``(B) the quantities of nitrogen, phosphorous, or
potassium, as applicable, manufactured and marketed, as
applicable.
``(2) Fertilizer products.--The corporate officers or
officially designated representatives of each manufacturer or
wholesaler of a fertilizer product shall report to the
Secretary at least weekly--
``(A) the prices for the fertilizer product; and
``(B) the quantity of the fertilizer product
manufactured or marketed, as applicable.
``(3) Mandatory reporting exemption for cooperatives and
non-manufacturer retailers; voluntary reporting.--The Secretary
shall--
``(A) exempt all cooperatives and retailers (except
for retailers that are also manufacturers) from any
mandatory price reporting under this section; and
``(B) provide a mechanism for cooperatives and
retailers to voluntarily and confidentially report the
prices and quantities described in subparagraphs (A)
and (B) of paragraphs (1) and (2)--
``(i) directly to the Secretary; or
``(ii) through the program established
under subsection (e).
``(4) Publication.--The Secretary shall make the
information reported to the Secretary under this subsection
available to the public--
``(A) not less frequently than weekly; and
``(B) in a manner that ensures the information is
published--
``(i) on a national basis; and
``(ii) on a regional or statewide basis, as
the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
``(5) Competitive effects analysis.--The Secretary may
conduct a competitive effects analysis of the information
reported to the Secretary under this subsection.
``(e) Fertilizer Retail Survey.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a program
within Market News of the Agricultural Marketing Service--
``(A) to conduct not less frequently than weekly
surveys of retail fertilizer prices;
``(B) to obtain commercially available estimates of
the retail prices described in subparagraph (A); and
``(C) to provide State or regional estimates or
benchmarks and formulas to allow estimation of local
prices.
``(2) Maintenance of existing activities.--The program
established under paragraph (1) shall supplement, and not
supplant, existing input price collection activities of the
Secretary.
``(f) Summary of Data.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, directly or through
1 or more cooperative agreements with 1 or more affiliated
agricultural research programs, not less frequently than weekly
summarize and make available on a dashboard or other resource
easily accessible to farmers and market participants--
``(A) the information reported to the Secretary
under subsection (d); and
``(B) the retail survey prices and commercially
available estimates obtained under subsection (e).
``(2) Protection of confidentiality.--In carrying out
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall aggregate the information
and data in a manner that prevents confidential business
information and the identity of persons, including parties to a
contract, from being disclosed publicly.
``(3) Disclosure by federal government employees.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), no
officer, employee, or agent of the United States shall,
without the consent of the manufacturer, wholesaler, or
other person concerned, divulge or make known in any
manner any facts or information regarding the business
of the manufacturer, wholesaler, or other person that
was acquired through reporting required under
subsection (d).
``(B) Exception.--Information obtained by the
Secretary under subsection (d) may be disclosed--
``(i) to agents or employees of the
Department of Agriculture in the course of
their official duties under this subtitle;
``(ii) as directed by the Secretary or the
Attorney General, for enforcement purposes; or
``(iii) by a court of competent
jurisdiction.
``(C) Disclosure under freedom of information
act.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
facts or information obtained under this subtitle shall
be disclosed in accordance with section 552 of title 5,
United States Code.
``(g) Review.--Not less frequently than once every 2 years, the
Secretary shall review the information required to be reported to the
Secretary by manufacturers and wholesalers under this section.
``(h) Outdated Information.--If the Secretary determines under a
review under subsection (g) that information required to be reported
under this section no longer accurately reflects the methods by which
nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium for use as fertilizer or
fertilizer products are valued and priced by manufacturers and
wholesalers, the Secretary shall, after public notice and an
opportunity for comment, promulgate regulations to specify additional
information that shall be reported under this section.
``(i) Application of Antitrust Laws.--
``(1) In general.--Nothing in this section modifies,
impairs, or supersedes the operation of any of the antitrust
laws.
``(2) Definition of antitrust laws.--In this subsection,
the term `antitrust laws'--
``(A) has the meaning given the term in subsection
(a) of the first section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C.
12); and
``(B) includes section 5 of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent that such
section applies to unfair methods of competition.''.
<all>