Tennessee farmer Todd Littleton expects to pay USD 100,000 more for fertiliser this season, a 40 per cent spike from his bill last year, thanks to the war in Iran - and he is scrambling to cover that extra cost. "The problem is, we're so strained financially coming into this issue," said Littleton, a third-generation farmer from Gibson County in the state's northwest corner. "We have had a couple of record losses the last couple of years, so everyone's kinda grabbing at straws anyway, and then to have input prices increase yet again, it just really couldn't happen at a worse time." Littleton, who grows corn, soybeans and wheat, is among thousands of farmers across the country who will pay far more this spring than they expected for fertiliser that is essential to their crops. Nitrogen-based fertiliser is especially vital for corn, usually the largest crop in the US and one that feeds the nation's livestock and is converted into fuel that helps power most US cars and trucks. Farmers