Reuters — Fertilizer and farm retail dealer Agrium reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit helped by higher prices for most grains and oilseeds. The company also forecast 2015 profit to be $7 to $8.50 per share. Analysts on average expect a profit of $7.55 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Agrium’s U.S.-listed shares rose two […] Read more
Agrium profit beats Street, helped by higher grain prices
All crops not equal in face of weakening dollar
CNS Canada –– With the Canadian dollar falling to its weakest levels relative to its U.S. counterpart in six years, the general sentiment holds it should be good news for exporters, such as Canadian grain farmers. However, any net benefit may depend on what exactly is being exported and who is doing the buying, according […] Read more
Fertilizer prices stray away from corn influence: Analyst
CNS Canada — Foreign exports and transportation look like they could be the main issues facing the fertilizer industry in 2015. Countries such as Ukraine, Russia and Belarus are busy players on the market, with Morocco also ramping up production. As a result, more supplies of phosphates and other fertilizers are out there, according to […] Read more
Payoff from variable-rate technology is variable
Study of variable-rate fertilizer application finds it’s not a ‘slam dunk’ — sometimes it pays and sometimes it doesn’t
Reading Time: 2 minutes Does variable-rate fertilizer application pay off? Sure it does — if you can find the areas of the field that need it, suggests a recent financial analysis of variable-rate technology (VRT) conducted in Lethbridge. “The more fertilizer you put on, the better results you get,” said Mark Wobick, a farm management consultant with MNP. “But […] Read more
Ont. to allow land application of greenhouse feedwater
Spent nutrient solutions from Ontario’s commercial greenhouses will be made more easily available to crop growers for land application starting in 2015 under a new provincial regulatory framework. Greenhouse growers in the province are already required by law to safely dispose of the greenhouse nutrient feedwater (GNF) after it’s been used, circulated and reused to […] Read more
China looking to curb fertilizer, pesticide use
Beijing | Reuters — China, the world’s top producer of rice and wheat, is seeking to cap its use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that have helped to contaminate large swathes of its arable land and threaten its ability to keep up with domestic food demand. More than 19 per cent of soil samples taken […] Read more
Crop prices down, but fertilizer prices not following suit
Supply and logistics issues are keeping fertilizer prices up even though demand in the U.S. has stalled
Reading Time: 2 minutes Despite low commodity prices, fertilizer prices have not been following the same trend, says an Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development’s market analyst for agriculture inputs. “Two of the reasons fertilizer prices have not trended down- ward as quickly as grain prices are world supply and U.S. transportation issues,” said Jennifer Stoby. “The world markets are […] Read more
Manitoba extends fertilizer application window
Manitoba crop producers who’d hoped to apply manure or fertilizers to their fields now have a couple of extra days before the province’s annual winter ban takes effect. Manitoba’s conservation and water stewardship department announced Friday it will delay the start of the annual provincewide winter nutrient application ban until Wednesday (Nov. 12). Soil temperatures […] Read more
Fertilizer warning: Don’t pay $12 an acre for ‘foo-foo dust’
Buyer beware, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency no longer tests fertilizers for efficacy and quality
Reading Time: 3 minutes A“streamlining” of federal oversight of fertilizers has opened the door to deceptive marketing claims and forced product testing on to farmers. “There have always been con men trying to sell you things with dubious claims. It’s just maybe easier for them now,” said Harry Brook, a crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “All […] Read more
When should you fertilize winter wheat?
Research has shown that fertilizing at seeding can be very effective — and a big time saver come spring
Reading Time: 2 minutes AARD Release / Once the decision to grow winter wheat has been made, one question that frequently comes up is when to fertilize. “Traditionally, winter wheat has been seeded with very little fertilizer and then fertilized in the spring,” said Doon Pauly, agronomy research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development in Lethbridge. “Sometimes, however, […] Read more
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