LEESBURG, Ind. — Ukraine’s war with Russia has put a clamp on both countries’ ability to export many of the products that the rest of the world takes for granted.
Economic sanctions on Russia because of their invasion of Ukraine have squeezed the country’s ability to export oil, as well as other products like Nitrogen which is used in fertilizer for crops. Kip Tom, who is a managing member of Tom Farms in Leesburg, sees the turmoil in Europe as an opportunity for Indiana.
“There is no question, we need to bring some of these supply chains back to the United States and back to Indiana,” Tom said on Inside Indiana Business. “Nearly a third of the world’s nitrogen comes out of Russia. Belarus is a producer of potassium. We can get nitrogen production started here in the United States, either along the Michigan coast or down on the Ohio River.”
Tom, who is the former US ambassador to the U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture, suggested leveraging agricultural companies based in Indiana already to start investing in bringing these supply chains within the country’s borders, or even reach out to European companies about investing in Indiana.
“We need to realize that (the Russian invasion of Ukraine) is a long-term play, and we need to bring these supply chains back to the United States,” Tom added.
The United States is the world’s third-largest producer of nitrogen behind Russia and India. Tom believes the U.S. can up the ante in that regard.
