Texas Fertilizer Plants Included in $1.3B Federal Manufacturing Push

A fertilizer manufacturing project in Pasadena, Texas, is among eight initiatives selected to advance for proposed federal funding under a U.S. Department of Agriculture program aimed at expanding domestic fertilizer production.

PCI Nitrogen is slated to receive approximately $100 million in proposed USDA funding toward a $200 million project to modernize facilities in Pasadena and St. Helens, Oregon. The upgrades are expected to support about 148,280 tons of annual fertilizer production, including ammonium sulfate and urea, according to the USDA.

The selection is part of a broader federal investment push announced by Vice President J.D. Vance and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. The eight projects represent more than $1.34 billion in proposed investment, including approximately $573 million in USDA funding, through the Fertilizer Investment & Expansion for Long-Term Domestic Supply, or FIELDS, Program.

The program was established to expand U.S. fertilizer manufacturing and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers. Fertilizer is a major input cost for farmers, and disruptions in global supply chains can affect availability and prices.

USDA estimates the selected projects could eventually lower nitrogen fertilizer prices by 4.4% and potash by 5.3% once the new and expanded capacity becomes operational. The department also projects domestic nitrogen production could rise by 3.7%, while potash production could increase by nearly 40%. Those figures are projections, not guaranteed savings for Texas farmers.

The other selected projects span multiple states and include plans for modular ammonia production, expanded fertilizer manufacturing, and a new potash facility in New Mexico. Together, the projects are expected to support approximately 1.08 million tons of annual domestic fertilizer production capacity.

The USDA said the FIELDS program prioritizes projects it considers financially viable and sufficiently advanced to move toward implementation, with private-sector investment supplementing federal support.