Reading Time: < 1 minute Don’t bet on fertilizer prices falling before seeding, says a market analyst with Alberta Agriculture. “The most likely scenario for fertilizers is that the current high prices will continue throughout the winter and spring months of 2022,” said Ryan Furtas. Nitrogen production and products, namely ammonia and urea, are mainly produced at Alberta locations but […] Read more
Making N here doesn’t lower price
There’s a path to reduced fertilizer emissions but it has challenges
More uptake of 4R and better application technology are key but so is providing the right incentives
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizer use are possible through 4R nutrient management, according to researchers from the University of Guelph. But while the 4R concept is good (right source, right time, right rate and right placement), truly significant reductions lean heavily on achieving each factor simultaneously, said Claudia Wagner-Riddle, […] Read more
Fertilizer prices to stay high
Reading Time: < 1 minute Farmers, at least those south of the border, won’t see any easing of fertilizer prices until after they’ve got a crop in the ground, according to a new report from CoBank, a major U.S. ag lender. “Fertilizer prices are expected to remain elevated for at least the next six months and throughout the 2022 spring […] Read more
Yara brings most European ammonia production back on stream
Rising fertilizer prices make resumption profitable
Oslo | Reuters — Yara has brought most of its European ammonia production back on line after prices of finished fertilizers rose to make up for a surge in the cost of gas, the Norwegian fertilizer manufacturer said on Wednesday. The company cut back ammonia production at a number of sites in Europe from September […] Read more
Buyer found for ag retailer Blair’s contested outlet
ProSoils to buy Blair's location at Lipton, Sask.
Crop input retail chain Blair’s Crop Solutions has a deal in place to sell one of its eastern Saskatchewan sites to meet its obligation to federal regulators. The chain, a joint venture between Federated Co-operatives and the Blair’s Family of Companies, announced Monday it will sell its site at Lipton, Sask., about 80 km west […] Read more
Farmers ask U.S. Justice Department to probe fertilizer price spikes
Reuters — Farmers have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether recent spikes in fertilizer prices are attributable to market manipulation by fertilizer companies, according to a letter sent Wednesday by the Family Farm Action Alliance. The group, which has more than 6,000 farmer and rural members, alleges fertilizer companies are setting prices […] Read more
Fertilizer shortage may lead to spring scramble
'It's next year's prices I'm worried about'
Reuters — A global shortage of nitrogen fertilizer is driving prices to record levels, prompting North America’s farmers to delay purchases and raising the risk of a spring scramble to apply the crop nutrient before planting season. The Texas Arctic Blast in February and Hurricane Ida in August disrupted U.S. fertilizer production. Then, prices of […] Read more
Imagine this: When the plant speaks, nutrients listen
Canadian researcher may have found a radically new way to fertilize crops
Reading Time: 4 minutes It sounds like science fiction, but some day there may be a fertilizer that only activates once the plant tells it to. That’s an oversimplification, but it’s the premise behind a researcher’s prototype for a “smart” fertilizer which uses a unique chemical to “listen” to calls for nutrients from the plant roots. It’s an insight […] Read more
Industry and farm organizations fear fertilizer volume cuts
A made-in-Canada approach using 4R proposed as a means for meeting emissions targets
Reading Time: 4 minutes It was a dramatic claim — if Canadian farmers reduce their fertilizer use by the federal government’s proposed 30 per cent, they could lose $48 billion by 2030. It came last month in a release from Fertilizer Canada, which said that, that would be the loss if Canada followed the European model of cutting fertilizer […] Read more
Bayer sees farmers pre-buying inputs as supply-chain snarls continue
Chicago/Berlin | Reuters — U.S. farmers are pre-buying seeds and chemicals they need earlier than normal, in a bid to secure supplies for next spring amid sector-wide supply-chain problems, a top executive at German agricultural and pharmaceuticals firm Bayer said Tuesday. Bayer also estimates its average seed prices will go up about five per cent […] Read more
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