(Radio Iowa) – Fertilizer prices have skyrocketed over the last year and Iowa’s Attorney General says he is looking into the reasons behind the 200 and 300 percent increases. Fertilizer companies blame natural gas cost spikes and production shutdowns because of Hurricane Ida. But Attorney General Tom Miller says he wants to know if these justify the jump in prices. “We’re taking a look at why this increase, what happened? What’s the relationship to supply and demand? And ask them for their side of the story,” Miller says.

Miller has written letters to the C-E-O’s of the top fertilizer companies — but he emphasizes that it’s not an investigation. “It’s sort of the initial look to see why this happened. And afterward we can make decisions,” he says.

Miller says he’s talked with attorneys general in eight other states — primarily in the Midwest — about fertilizer prices. But he wouldn’t share which states have shown interest. Miller says he’s also asked economists to study the issue — and he hopes to have some findings in a few months.