“It is a serious time,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall. “My phone has been ringing off the hook since last week when the Strait [of Hormuz] was shut down.”

Up to 30 percent of the world’s fertilizer exports and a significant percentage of additional raw materials used to make fertilizer pass through the Strait; the route has been shut down since the war started.

During the hearing, Duvall outlined steps the Farm Bureau is asking the White House to take to head off supply chain shocks that could drive record-high input costs even higher, including using the Navy to help get ships through the Strait and exempting inputs—especially fertilizer—from tariffs.

“One of the things I consistently hear from neighbors, friends, fellow farmers, and ranchers across the state of North Dakota is input costs are just through the roof,” North Dakota Farmers Union President Matt Perdue told senators. If the war drives an additional increase, he said, the cost will be too high for many farmers to take on. “You can’t make it pencil out,” he said.

High fuel prices could also hurt farmers heading into planting session, Duvall said, noting that the Farm Bureau asked President Donald Trump to suspend the Jones Act, a law that restricts domestic trade to U.S. ships. Under the law, waivers can allow foreign ships to transport goods, like oil, between U.S. ports. On Thursday, Trump indicated he plans to grant a waiver as part of a plan to address fuel prices.