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For those of you involved in farming, or fertilizer sales, questions about fertilizer shortages?
dreher
Member Posts: 8,786 ✭✭✭✭
Back in the early 70s I managed a large fertilizer plant. I remember that we got our K from Canada, our P from Florida and our N locally, in Ohio, where the plant I managed was located.
So now I hear about fertilizer shortages because of the Ukrainian war. Unless things have changed over the last 45 to 50 years, which is very possible, it seems that Florida and Canada are a long ways from the Ukrainian war.
Since I am of the belief that anything I hear on the so called "news" is bull pucky I would like to now what is the truth.
Anyone got any answers/insight??
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Talked with my BIL Friday and he states what "was" ???around $800 last year is now $1500. and I forget what type of fertile it is. But almost doubled in a year. Yea, things are not looking up for anybody but the in crowd.
Not a farmer or a big user of fertilizer anymore since retired. However, in my area there is a lot of the various fertilizers used by mostly homeowner consumers stacked on pallets in all the places that normally sell it. The only shortage I see are the shortages of fair prices for the stuff!!!!
I am no farmer but, I do remember going with my Grandfather when I was young to get a pick up load of chicken manure for his vegetable garden. He always had a very nice garden. I guess that doesn't work anymore either.
The aditional cost probably has a lot to do with the price of fuel. There is a horse farm not far from me and I borrow my neighbor dump trailer and stock pile it for my garden and his.
My projections for our farm this year is a 40% increase in expenses over last year. Crop prices are up but I think this year may be a little lean.
Yep, diesel prices driving it up just like EVERYTHING else that you want/need to buy! I haven't seen shortages, just outrageous prices! At least double last year prices.
mississippi had several fertilizer plants until the EPA shut them down. pretty sure we dont have any now.
I heard a farmer from California who had 6000 acres say a lot of fields in that state would not be planted at all due to lack of water. My guess is the same is true of most of the western states. Better buy all the canned vegetables and Spam you can.
The semi-solid sludge from cities waste water plants makes great fertilizer and is used around here, cities are happy to get rid of it and the real cost is in transport and application. I too have wondered about the Ukrainian connection but with Biden and his crooked son with their cronies who knows ???
"Never do wrong to make a friend----or to keep one".....Robert E. Lee
Fertilizer components come from all over the globe these days. Main reasons: government restrictions on production and/or price. It's often cheaper to source from other continents and pay the freight than to deal with domestic 'environmental issues'. Just look at the lead industry.
The current situation is partially due to political agenda. If your agenda is intent on putting the USA on it's knees, you face two serious road blocks. First is the Second Amendment and we all know how that's going. Next is the highly effective agriculture industry and high oil prices handicap both agriculture and transportation of production from field to table.
I am a farmer, around 1400 acres of corn, wheat and soybeans.
Urea, which is where the main source of Nitrogen comes from when fertilizing went from around $375/ton last year to about $900 this year. Doesn't seem to be a major shortage.
Just for perspective, when I fertilize wheat ground I usually spread around 200lbs/acre. So this year it costs around $90/acre vs. Around $37 last year. Fuel is up a ton and chemical went up too.
Not sure but I believe alot of the K in the N-P-K comes from China in the potash form but the OP would know more since he ran a fertilizer retailer.
My brothers(separate operation but still work together a bit) and I buy around 450 tons of fertilizer a year.
shootuadeal,
Good to see a fellow farmer on the forum. Nutrien just bought into what is said to be the biggest potash production plant in the world so we're hoping this has some effect in overall price and availability.
IIRC Chicago tried that and found very high levels of Cadmium in the soils and food. They stopped spreading it on food plots.
I always thought that human waste was used to make Milorganite. Best used for lawn fertilizer and not for growing crops meant for human consumption.
Biden has flooded the world with sooo much of his BS, it has driven the price of the good stuff through the roof....
From a simple search I found Milorganite is not made from human waste as rumored. Back in Jan. & Feb. (we / Grandson) spread manure from a dairy 4 miles from home and have for done this for years. Mr. d-con my Southerly neighbor on this site should be an expert on sludge spreading on land his pecan trees grow, I'll leave his experience with the EPA, laws, courts for him share. Farmers like everyone else in America are always looking for ways to lower production cost.
"Never do wrong to make a friend----or to keep one".....Robert E. Lee
There is no 'free lunch' but the current administration has turned some profitable enterprises into loss leaders in under 2 years. Someone should be held responsible for these actions.
HAHAHA!!! You're funny. No one is ever held responsible.
Bless ANY farmers left in the US. We bowed out in the late 80's after the dairy buyout. I don't see how anyone other than corporations could START a successful farm now. At the current costs, plus EPA and other restrictions, running what you've already got is tough. You've got my respect.
Because of fertilizer and fuel prices and what may be a bad planting year because of all the rain in corn country we just brought in 4 tons of popcorn seed for our concession business.
That was the only way we could keep prices under control.
I asked a farmer friend what he would do if he won the lottery. He said he guessed he would keep farming until the money ran out.
I don't want to say that's an oldie but when I was a pathetic excuse for a farmer almost 50 years ago that was being told at the local feed mills!
Just wait until DEF becomes hard to find...
"Just wait until DEF becomes hard to find..."
No need to wait. Have you checked the prices of older "non-def" tractors? I have a 1980 JD 4440 that has been superseded by a newer JD 7800(newer but still pre-DEF). That 42 year old John Deere is currently worth 50% MORE than I gave for in in 1995.
FWIW, the extremely low hour 1977 JD 4430 I bought in 1986 will easily bring well over 200% of what it cost me.
DEF is just another shackle placed upon American trucking and farming by the misguided holier-than-thou environmentalist agenda.