The Future of Fertilizer

How “green” fertilizer is defined will determine which practices and products deliver a premium to farmers.

- By Cassidy Walter

From new companies and long-time leaders, the fertilizer industry is developing lower-carbon options. The impact of those products may hinge on return on investment (ROI) at the farmgate, and inclusion in government programs.

Ideas Taking Flight
Last spring, the U.S. Treasury Department released guidance for the 40B Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Tax Credit, which included the creation of the USDA Climate Smart Agriculture Pilot Program. The program enabled corn farmers practicing no-till, growing cover crops, and using enhanced efficiency nitrogen fertilizer (EENF) to boast a lower carbon intensity (CI) score for their corn.

The agriculture and biofuel industries largely saw the pilot program as a positive step, with hopes for more flexibility and the inclusion of more practices in a program for the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit. The 45Z credit went into effect at the beginning of 2025. While it does not go directly to farmers, they theoretically stand to benefit if ethanol producers are willing to pay a premium for corn with a lower CI score to maximize their credit benefit.

If final 45Z regulations contain a similar program as 40B (as of this writing in December 2024, the industry still awaits final guidance for 45Z), greener fertilizer practices are likely to be a part of it.

What Is an EENF?

For an acceptable definition for “enhanced efficiency fertilizer,” (EEF) as it pertains to the SAF credit, Treasury borrowed from the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials (AAPFCO). That organization says EEF products “allow increased nutrient availability” and reduce potential environmental nutrient losses, “e.g. gaseous losses, leaching or runoff when compared to an appropriate reference product.” While the EEF definition is not exclusive to nitrogen fertilizer, the SAF credit program was specific to enhanced efficiency nitrogen fertilizer, aka EENF.