Fertilizers are the single largest cost in agriculture.

Error detected

The European Commission states that fertiliser costs represent only 7 to 8% of total input costs in the EU agricultural sector. At this level, fertilisers cannot be the single largest cost in agriculture — animal feedingstuffs (feed) consistently accounts for a far larger share of intermediate consumption in EU farming.

Omissions

• The claim does not specify a time period or whether it refers to crop farming specifically versus all agriculture (including livestock). For arable crop farms, fertilisers may indeed be among the largest input costs, but for EU agriculture as a whole — which includes the large livestock sector — animal feed is the dominant cost.
• Only one primary source was found due to search limitations. A second independent source confirming the cost breakdown of EU agricultural inputs would strengthen the verification.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission — Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentFertiliser costs represent 7 to 8% of the total input costs of the whole EU agricultural sector.