Fertilizer
Nutrien announced this week it will build the world’s largest clean ammonia production facility in Geismar, Louisiana, to “decarbonize agriculture.”
Biden says Ukraine has 20 million tons of stored grain awaiting export to various countries. He says lack of port movement coupled with halted planting in Ukraine will ignite a global food crisis unless action is taken.
The White House is expected to announce plans to insure double cropping in 681 more counties and doubling the amount of funding for domestic fertilizer production to $500M during a visit to an Illinois farm Wednesday.
Don’t overlook planter applied nitrogen when thinking about nitrogen stabilizers.
Bayer announced it will close the joint venture created between Leaps by Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks in 2017. And moving forward, Ginkgo Bioworks will become a multi-year microbial strategic partner with Bayer.
As input prices climb to alarming levels, Jon Stevens’ decade-long series of input trials is paying dividends in 2022.
Black swans emerge, to cast shadows of doubt on agriculture’s future
One of the biggest ag supply chain stories this spring has been pesticides. While my experience is these situations are usually overblown early, the situation could alter the way farmers do business in the years ahead.
The March CME/Purdue Ag Economy Barometer posted the weakest farmer sentiment reading since May 2020, as the survey found the biggest concern among producers continues to be “higher input costs.”
As farmers prepare for planting, supply chain concerns are rampant. Input availability issues could be a factor farmers battle all spring with a recent ag retail survey finding chemistry is in the shortest supply.
Livestock farmers, including those who previously paid to have animal waste removed, have found a fertile side business selling to grain farmers. Equipment firms that make manure spreading equipment are also benefiting.
A growing number of lawmakers, farm groups and farmers are pleading for assistance from still surging fertilizer prices. One possibility for USDA would be to tap the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act.
Canada’s Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan Jr, who mediated the talks, said normal operations will continue at CP during the arbitration period.
A labor dispute that shut down operations at Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd on Sunday is set to aggravate a shortage of commodities, and a prolonged lockdown could hurt farmers ahead of the spring planting season.
Even with Russia removed from the global fertilizer market, it still doesn’t create worst-case scenario. StoneX Group says China could make the situation worse, as China and Russia account for 40% of global phosphate.
The formal inquiry by the Canadian Competition Bureau started in October 2019.
The U.S. is the second or third top importer for each of the three major components of fertilizer. Top producers of the major components of fertilizer include China, Russia, Canada, Morocco and Belarus.
The U.S. is “no where near” having 100% of the fertilizer products farmers need at planting, according to The Fertilizer Institute. Soil sampling and good nutrient stewardship principles are more important than ever.
“The combination of rising fertilizer prices and the desire to impart more on-farm stewardship practices piqued my interest in this program,” said Kasey Bamberger, Partner, Bryant Agricultural Enterprise.
Roughly 3,000 Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP Rail) workers voted 96.7% in favor of going on strike starting March 16 if a collective bargaining agreement is not penned. CP Rail halts would mean trouble for fertilizer.
Russia’s trade and industry ministry has recommended the country’s fertilizer producers temporarily halt exports, the ministry said Friday, in a sign that sanctions imposed could have a global impact.
Secretary Vilsack supports attorney generals search for answers. He says once the market studies are completed, “we may learn additional steps we can take.”
No matter where you travel across the country right now, farmers share similar concerns. The latest Ag Economy Barometer fell to its lowest reading since July 2020 as the input situation weighs outlooks.
Dept. of Commerce issued a preliminary determination this week showing urea nitrate from Russia and Trinidad and Tobago is being sold into the U.S. at less than fair value. The ruling could open the door for tariffs.
Nutrien Ltd, the world’s biggest potash miner, could boost production by up to 29% in coming years, depending on any sanctions facing rival producers
Recent COVID-19 vaccine mandates in both the U.S. and Canada could take even more truckers off the road. Trucking industry experts warn while empty store shelves could turn into more fertilizer shortages next.
“The elephant in the room is China—and its decisions on production and its lack of exporting product,” Lon Swanson says.
The report found nitrogen accounts for more than 50% of fertilizer costs for a corn producer at $117 per acre.
Nutrien and The Fertilizer Institute share more details on fertilizer industry dynamics in light of reports citing how fertilizer prices are effecting on-farm economics.
A new report from Texas A&M Agricultural and Food Policy Center (AFPC) a 50% rise in fertilizer prices equates to an average of $128,000 per farm. The largest per-acre impact would falls on rice farms at $62.04 an acre.