(Reuters) -CF Industries ( CF ) missed estimates for second-quarter profit on Wednesday, as higher costs weighed on the fertilizer firm, sending its shares down 4.3% in extended trading.

The company's quarterly cost of sales was up about 27% at $1.14 billion from a year earlier on higher natural gas costs, which were up 77% at $3.36 per million British thermal units.

U.S. natural gas prices, a key feedstock for nitrogen fertilizers, rose in the second quarter as power demand spiked on the back of energy-hungry data centers, escalating production costs for fertilizer producers.

The Northbrook, Illinois-based company reported an adjusted profit of $2.35 per share for the three months ended June 30, compared with the analysts' average estimate of $2.54, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Crop prices - including those of soybean, wheat and corn - have been falling in recent quarters due to oversupply and weakening demand, forcing farmers to cut back spending on fertilizers, affecting companies such as CF Industries ( CF ).

Peer Mosaic also missed second-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday, as higher costs weighed against gains from stronger potash prices and robust sales in Brazil.  

CF Industries' ( CF ) quarterly net earnings attributable to common stockholders fell about 8% to $386 million from a year earlier.

The results come at a time when the agrichemical industry is bracing itself for a potential fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on most imports, which are expected to lower demand and curb farmers' spending.