Is Rock Salt Shortage Coming to South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa?

As winters go ours has been pretty bearable, with the exception of the last week or so. But I'll take bitter cold over mountains of snow and sheets of ice anytime.

In some parts of the country (New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire) they are facing a rock salt shortage, and some of the reasons why are very clear, while others are not as transparent.

For the eastern part of the country, the sheer number of snow and ice storms have been depleting stockpiles of rock salt ice melt. Also, some states are moving away from using imported rock salt, further deepening the growing shortage.

New York state has implemented a "Buy American Salt Act" limiting their cities to purchasing only domestically produced rock salt.

China is the leading producer of rock salt at almost 23%, followed by the U.S. at 15%, then India at almost 9%, and Germany at 8%. (Wikipedia)

Rock salt shortages typically occur during particularly harsh winters when demand for de-icing roads and sidewalks spikes. These shortages can affect municipalities, businesses, and homeowners who rely on rock salt for winter safety.

So far our area has been spared any ice melt shortages, but it wouldn't hurt to get out and buy a spare bag.