ADAMS COUNTY, Pa. — On Thursday afternoon, a truck hauling liquid nitrogen returned to AG Com's fertilizer division in Straban Township, Adams County from the Port of Baltimore.
It’s one of the last few trips the fertilizer and feed supplier may be making to Maryland for awhile.
“Three or four vessels were due in the next two or three weeks, now we’re at the point of they’re gonna be out shortly and we have no idea when the next one comes in," said Andy Sanders, plant manager of AG Com's fertilizer division.
The collapse of the Key Bridge in Baltimore has left the port closed indefinitely.
As the country’s largest entry point for liquid and dry fertilizer, among other agricultural supplies and farming equipment, its closure has left companies like AG Com scrambling.
“Where am I going to get it? Can I get it?" said Sanders. "At the moment, nobody knows.”
Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Agriculture, Russell Redding, told FOX43 on Thursday there are major concerns across the industry.
“There’s this shuffle and scramble at the moment for where do you put, and where do you load and offload product," explained Secretary Redding. "That may be from Virginia all the way to Boston.”
For Sanders, heading to a new port may be the only choice, but that won’t come without extra cost.
“I have to go to Philadelphia, Chester, Virginia, North Carolina, which will raise the price which raises truck freight wise, so it’s a big impact for everyone," he said.
It's an unprecedented impact that for the farming industry, couldn’t come at a worse time.
“We’re at the cusp of the season for fertilizer use so these trucks are moving in and what happens a lot of the ingredients are brought into that port and the manufacturers here in Pennsylvania blend them," explained Secretary Redding.
“[For us], this is way worse than [the Covid-19 pandemic]," said Sanders. "It’s the wrong time of the year, we’re just getting ready to plant in the next two weeks. With Covid, there was product there. This definitely is way worse.”
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