National Farm Security Action Plan Designates Phosphorus and Potash as Critical Minerals
American farmers like to think they’re feeding the world. But when it comes to some of the inputs critical for conventional agriculture, the world is feeding us. That’s one reason why the USDA and Department of War (DoW) are collaborating to implement the National Farm Security Action Plan.
First released in July 2025, the National Farm Security Action Plan is a “national policy to defend food and agriculture systems against terror attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies.” It covers multiple areas, including foreign ownership of American farmland, biosecurity, cybersecurity—and fertilizer.
“The production of key agricultural inputs and materials…rely on components produced in other countries, including some countries of concern or other foreign adversaries, creating strategic dependence and placing American agriculture at a disadvantage,” the report states. These inputs include fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals.
Implementing the action plan has already involved adding phosphate and potash to the USGS 2025 List of Critical Minerals. These are the only two minerals on the list used exclusively for agriculture; the fifty-eight others are used to manufacture electronics, nuclear weapons, and other technologies deemed critical for national defense.
The effort to get phosphate and potash classified as critical minerals was spearheaded by the Fertilizer Institute, which warned, “Without these two minerals, modern agricultural systems would crumble and the ability to feed our growing population would be nearly impossible.” It wouldn’t be great for the fertilizer industry, either.
From a strategic perspective, the supply chains for these two minerals don’t actually look very risky. The US produces 86 percent of the phosphate rock we use as fertilizer; most of the remainder is imported from Peru. On a global scale, China, Morocco, and Russia are also leading producers of phosphate.
When it comes to potash, the US is far more dependent on imports. Only 9 percent of the potash used as fertilizer in the US is domestically mined. However, 79 percent of potash imports come from Canada. It’s assumedly the 12 percent from Russia that DoW is concerned about.
Interestingly, the standard fact sheets put out by USGS on phosphate and potash both say “None” under the heading for “Recycling.” That’s because “recycling,” as the term is normally used—melting down and refining scrap metal for reuse—can’t be done with fertilizers.
But, as eco-farmers know, phosphate, potash, and all the other minerals used by crops can be recycled—by natural, biological processes. Natural nutrient recycling—with crop residues, compost, and cover crops—can drastically reduce or eliminate the need for any kind of mined mineral fertilizers. That’s the fundamental premise of organic farming.
Maybe that’s why neither the Fertilizer Institute nor USDA mention that promoting natural nutrient recycling and reducing purchased inputs of all kinds would be a lot better long-term investment in agricultural security than stockpiling fertilizers.
That would require admitting that organic farming can feed the world.
