Fertilizer prices across Western Canada are considerably higher than earlier this year, but some price relief may be on the way.
"Fertilizer prices have really stayed high all through the season," said Doug Chorney, president of Manitoba farmer group Keystone Agricultural Producers.
Prices over the past 12 months in Manitoba have increased for some nitrogen fertilizers by as much as 50 per cent to $950 from $630 a tonne, he said.
Higher grain values contributed to the upward costs for producers, he said.
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Many Manitoban farmers have had to back off from fertilizing their fields as it’s not economical now, Chorney said. However, he added, farmers are taking a wait-and-see approach and hoping fertilizer costs will go down.
While Manitoba farmers are hesitant to start fertilizing, Albertan farmers are more likely to spread the costs between now and springtime, said Humphrey Banack, president of Alberta’s Wild Rose Agricultural Producers.
Fertilizer costs in Alberta have increased between 30 and 40 per cent this spring as strong demand for commodities continues to spill over into the overall agricultural market, he said.
Arlynn Kurtz, vice-president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, also said fertilizer prices have gone up compared to the spring time. Higher demand, due to more pressure to produce higher yields, bumped prices up, he said.
Despite higher costs, farmers in Saskatchewan will likely purchase more fertilizer now rather than just before spring seeding, as they want to lock in supply to take advantage of more yields and prevent potential future price shocks, he said.
Trickle
While current costs for fertilizers are hurting western Canadian farmers, hope for some stabilization in prices may be on the horizon.
David Asbridge, president of NPK Fertilizer Advisory Service at Chesterfield, Mo., said fertilizer prices are starting to balance out after the above-normal levels seen earlier this year.
U.S. farmers wanting higher corn yields, along with natural gas concerns from Trinidad and Tobago, contributed to rising global fertilizer costs, he said.
With a slight decline in international nitrogen and phosphate prices, the effects will trickle into North America as the wintertime progresses, with no increases over the winter months expected as producers head into the springtime, he said.
