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| supply and demand. It goes without saying that corn acres use a tremendous amount of N. To manufacture N, it takes a great amount of energy. Energy is high because of worldwide demand. Couple that with a high demand of N because of more corn acres. Kind of a perfect storm scenario. On top of that, it is very expensive to ship a 28% to 32% product overseas with any efficiency. On top of even that, manufacturers of N use a lot of propane and natural gas which they would rather sell as fuel as opposed to using it to manufacture N. Also, players in the fertilizer industry (and there aren't many) have been trying to raise prices for years, but couldn't get it to stick. Now they can and you and I are still purchasing it. Who's at fault? Just look at potash prices now compared to 4 years ago - it's more than doubled. So, it is complicated and there is not one reason why fertilizer is high.
You and I will have to do the same as the big energy users. That is, look for alternative sources and make every move count with purchases you absolutely have to make regarding inputs.
Edit: Urea is now being consumed on a grand scale by anyone wishing to control emissions. That could be very serious competition for farm use of urea in the very near future.
Edited by Jon S 8/28/2007 17:38
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Competition for fertilzer . . .is this why prices are higher?
