Iran war's shock waves threaten England's idyllic farms 6,000 miles away

Rix Farm in Great Horkesley, England, on Thursday.Andrew Testa for NBC NewsUnited KingdomIran war's shock waves threaten England's farms 6,000 miles awayAt a potato farm in eastern England, workers are on the front lines of an unfolding crisis as America's war threatens shortages of fuel and fertilizer.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00ShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 6, 2026, 6:55 AM EDT / Updated April 6, 2026, 7:05 AM EDTBy Alexander SmithGREAT HORKESLEY, England — Few places feel farther from the Iran war than the potato fields of eastern England, where pastoral landscapes and ancient forests have inspired romantic painters and poets for centuries.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.But this bucolic scene is not immune from the shock waves triggered by the American-Israeli assault — and it’s a story being repeated across farms all over the world.Though much attention has been devoted to the oil shock brought on by the conflict, there is another, perhaps equally alarming crisis emerging for the global population: a looming shortage of fertilizer, which could trigger widespread food shortages.Jumping down from his bright-green, 400-horsepower tractor, Stuart Josselyn wastes no time giving his view on geopolitics while standing on the plowed earth.“Trumpy,” he said, using a nickname for the American president delivered with the elongated vowels of an East Anglian accent, “he is causing real problems for real people throughout the whole world.”Stuart Josselyn, a machine operator at Rix Farms.Andrew Testa for NBC NewsAt 51, Josselyn is one of the farm’s top machine operators — whom his boss calls “fighter pilots” — but his chuckling manner and hoodie-sweatpants combo belie a serious message for the American president: “This is going to affect us for a long time, even if the war stops right now.”A chorus of expert voices warned this could happen: Iran retaliating by blocka...