When most people think of the Strait of Hormuz, they think of oil tankers and energy prices. But the Strait of Hormuz is not just a critical artery for oil; it is the lifeline of global fertiliser supply.
In the wake of the Iran war, which began in late February 2026, tanker traffic through Hormuz collapsed by more than 90%, sending shockwaves across the farming world, including in the United Kingdom.
Roughly one-quarter of the world’s fertiliser passes through this narrow waterway, making its effective closure one of the most severe agricultural disruptions in modern history.
Unlike oil, for which alternative sources and reserves exist, nitrogen fertiliser has very few substitutes that can be deployed quickly and at scale.
Fertiliser Costs Have Skyrocketed
The impact on British farms has been swift and brutal. According to some sources, fertiliser costs for UK farmers have surged by 50% to 70% since the start of the Iran war.
This rise compounds already high prices. For British farmers on tight margins, this spike is devastating.
Globally, fertiliser prices jumped 20–30% in the early days of the conflict, but Britain has experienced an even steeper rise due to its significant dependence on Gulf-sourced nitrogen fertilisers.
It’s not the first time British farmers have experienced spiralling fertiliser costs, as we have written previously about the rising cost of farming inputs here.
The Cost of Shipping Has Exploded
Even for suppliers attempting to reroute fertiliser deliveries, the logistical costs have become prohibitive. War-risk insurance premiums for vessels near the Strait of Hormuz have surged tenfold from pre-conflict levels.
A tanker that previously paid around £35,000 for Gulf coverage now faces up to £1 million for a single seven-day transit.
This means that even if fertiliser is available, the cost of getting it to British shores is dramatically higher – a cost that is ultimately passed on to farmers, retailers, and consumers.
British Farmers Are Waiting
What makes the current situation particularly alarming is the behaviouralresponse it is triggering among British farmers. Rather than absorbing the higher costs and continuing to purchase fertiliser, many are simply not buying. They are holding back, waiting, and hoping the situation improves.
While UK crops for the current year are unlikely to be severely affected – since most fertiliser had already been purchased and applied before the crisis, the real knock-on effect is expected to arrive next year.
Farmers may need to pivot from winter cropping to spring cropping, which offers slightly more flexibility but still represents a significant disruption to normal agricultural planning.
And of course, this will inevitably lead to rising food prices and food insecurity for everyone.
Artificial Fertiliser Alternatives
With the Iran war showing no signs of a peaceful resolution, what are the alternatives for UK farmers?
Organic fertilisers appear to be one of the most immediate and accessible alternatives to artificial fertilisers.
These are derived from plants, livestock, or humans (food waste) and contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK), as well as valuable micronutrients. Unlike artificial fertilisers, they improve soil texture and structure, increase the soil’s ability to hold water, and provide long-term, sustained fertilisation rather than a short-term chemical boost.
The main types of organic fertilisers available to UK farmers include:
| Type | Description |
| Livestock Manures | Solid manure and slurry from farmed animals; can be concentrated into poultry or swine manure ash for easier transport |
| Biosolids | Derived from treated sewage sludge; can decrease demand for non-renewable phosphorus |
| Digestate | A by-product of anaerobic digestion of organic matter such as manures or crops |
| Green Manures | Plants like legumes grown specifically to promote soil fertility and structure |
| Compost | Decomposed aerobic organic matter from green and food waste |
Organic Fertiliser Key Challenges
- Nutrient content is less predictable than artificial fertilisers, making it harder to plan precise applications.
- Large volumes may be impractical and expensive to transport over long distances.
- Most organic inputs (except manures) require processing or long preparation before use.
- Studies suggest it is not always possible to completely replace artificial fertilisers with organic alternatives on all farm types.
For more information on how to start farming organically, read our detailed post.
The Cutting-Edge Biological Alternative
There is another alternative: ‘biofertilizers’. These contain living microorganisms(bacteria, fungi, and algae) that naturally improve nutrient availability in the soil. These organisms naturally occur in healthy soils and can be cultivated and applied to significantly boost crop growth.
Research has shown that biofertilizers can increase crop growth and yield by 10–40%, while also improving drought tolerance, plant health, and salt tolerance.
The four main categories of biofertilizers are:
| Type | How It Works |
| Nitrogen-Fixers | Bacteria that transfer nitrogen directly from the atmosphere into ammonia in the soil – effectively replacing the Haber-Bosch industrial process with a natural one |
| Potassium Solubilizers | Microbes that release acids or biofilms to convert inaccessible potassium compounds into forms plants can absorb |
| Phosphorus Solubilizers | Bacteria and fungi that convert insoluble phosphorus into bioavailable forms for crops |
| Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) | Bacteria situated in the root zone of the soil that produce compounds supporting nitrogen fixation and stress tolerance |
Biofertiliser Key Challenges
- Shelf-life and storage requirements are currently barriers to widespread adoption.
- Concerns have been raised about introducing non-native soil microbiomes.
- More investment is needed to bring biofertilizer technology to a higher readiness level.
Improving Soil Health
Rather than taking the easy option of replacing one type of fertiliser with another, farming experts strongly advocate improving soil health so that less fertiliser of any kind is needed in the first place. Healthier soils naturally recycle nutrients more efficiently, meaning farmers spend less on fertilisers.
In the UK, popular strategies include:
- Intercropping: Growing two or more crops together to share and recycle nutrients already in the soil
- Reduced Tillage or No-Till Farming: Minimising ploughing to preserve soil structure and biology
- Crop Rotation: Alternating crops to break pest cycles and naturally replenish nutrients
- Cover Crops: Growing plants like clover and vetch alongside primary crops (not harvested) to fix nitrogen and improve soil fertility
- Biochar Application: Adding biochar to soil has been shown to reduce nutrient leaching and improve nutrient availability – acting as a slow-release nutrient bank
Improved soil health results in better water storage, greater recycling of organic matter, and increased nutrient efficiency for both organic and artificial fertilisers, meaning whatever fertiliser is applied goes much further.
Precision Agriculture
One of the most immediately actionable solutions does not require new fertiliser at all; it requires using existing fertiliser far more efficiently.
It is estimated that £390 million of artificial fertiliser is wasted in the UK each year due to over-application. Research by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board found that UK farmers could reduce nitrogen fertiliser use by up to 50% for specific crops without any significant yield reduction.
Technologies that make this possible include:
- Variable Rate Application Technology (VRT), which uses soil-mapping data to apply different fertiliser rates across parts of a field, matching application rates precisely to each patch of soil’s needs. We explain this further in our Agriculture Automation post.
- Nanofertilisers, which deliver nutrients via nanoparticles that slowly release into the soil, ensuring plants absorb more of what is applied rather than losing it through runoff or evaporation.
- Improved nutrient management planning, which studies suggest can significantly increase productivity, as demonstrated by Denmark’s experience of cutting nitrogen fertiliser use by nearly half between 1990 and 2011 while maintaining stable agricultural output. We have previously written about how to move towards sustainable agriculture here.
The Cost of Changing to Organic
For all the promise of these alternatives, it would be dishonest to ignore the economic reality facing British farmers who are asked to make the transition.
The truth is that moving away from artificial fertilisers, whether to organic, biological, or precision-based alternatives, carries significant short- to medium-term costs.
The upfront investment is considerable.
Precision agri-technologies, including ‘Variable Rate Application systems’, soil sensors, and GPS-guided machinery, require capital expenditure that many smaller British farms simply do not have ready access to. The economic costs of new machinery, combined with the need for specialist soil health management skills, are genuine barriers.
(N.B. If you want to learn more about farm machinery that improves productivity and reduces costs, please read our guide on the transition towards electric and hybrid farm machinery. It is one of our most popular blog posts.)
The yield transition gap is real, as studies comparing organic and conventional agriculture show that yields in the early years of a transition to organic farming are often lower. For farmers already operating on tight margins and facing a 70% increase in input costs, the prospect of reduced yields during a transition period is risky.
Transport costs are notably higher. Because, unlike nutrient-dense artificial fertilisers, organic materials such as manure and compost are bulky and costly to transport long distances. In England, where livestock production is concentrated in the west and arable crop production in the east, this geographical mismatch creates additional logistical and financial headaches.
Knowledge and/or skills gaps need to be factored in, as transitioning to organic or biofertilizer-based systems requires a different approach to farm management, one unfamiliar to many British farmers experienced in old-school techniques. Investment in knowledge exchange programmes and agricultural education will be key for a successful transition to organic methods.
Today’s Fertiliser Prices
Amidst the alarm surrounding fertiliser price increases, it is worth pausing to examine the numbers with a level head. At around £500 per tonne for 34.5% nitrogen fertiliser, prices are undeniably higher than last year, by roughly £150/t more.
For British farmers already operating on tight margins, this is a painful increase!
Some growers responded this spring by applying less nitrogen than they otherwise would have, potentially sacrificing yield or the premium that comes with milling-quality wheat.
But, at the same time, wheat prices have risen by £20 per tonne, generating an additional £170 per hectare in sales revenue, a figure that, on paper at least, offsets the additional fertiliser cost.
So for those farmers who invest in artificial fertiliser at today’s prices, and who produce strong yields, they may well find themselves nicely positioned in a world where fertiliser supply-side disruption has caused global grain production to fall – but pushed grain prices up.
How far grain prices will rise remains unknown.
Our Final Thoughts
The restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz have not suddenly created British agriculture’s dependence on artificial fertilisers; that vulnerability was built over decades.
But it has torn away the assumption that the supply chain was always dependable and it would always deliver, that prices would remain manageable, and that the status quo was sustainable.
The alternatives exist. The science is there.
Organic fertilisers, biofertilisers, precision agriculture, and investment in soil health are ways to create a better British food system. What they require is: investment, political will, farmer support, and acknowledgement that this type of transition takes time.
British farmers did not create this crisis. They should not be left to bear its costs alone.
Our Support
If all the above reads like doom and gloom for the future of farming, luckily, Evangate Financial Services can help.
We have years of experience in securing low-rate funding for UK farmers to smooth the transition towards sustainable agriculture. We can also arrange finance to pay for farm input costs.
We also know what government-backed funding is available for British farmers. Contact our team today for a chat to see how we can help.
