By Russ Quinn
DTN Staff Reporter
OMAHA (DTN) -- Retail fertilizer prices saw only minor changes from last month with four fertilizers posting slightly higher prices while one was lower and two were unchanged, according to retail fertilizer prices tracked by DTN for the third week of June 2019.
Of the gainers, urea had an average price of $435 per ton, up $7; MAP $532/ton, up $5; and UAN32 $318/ton, up $4. Potash, at $392/ton, and UAN28, at $270/ton, were up less than a dollar.
Two fertilizers were slightly lower compared to last month. DAP had an average price of $496/ton, down $1, and anhydrous was $589/ton, down $6.
The average retail price for 10-34-0 was unchanged $487/ton.
On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.47/lb.N, anhydrous $0.36/lb.N, UAN28 $0.48/lb.N and UAN32 $0.50/lb.N.
Fertilizer prices are pretty calm right now, said Brent Hall, agronomy manager for South Central Coop located in Lacona, Iowa. The only nutrient that saw a price increase in his area this spring was urea, he said.
"Urea was tight this spring at times with some transportation issues with the rivers flooding, but we didn't really see any large price spikes from that even," Hall told DTN.
Hall said the corn crop in south central Iowa has a wide range growth from the earliest planted to the latest planted due to the wet weather. The side-dressing season could be more spread out than in most years, with most in the area utilizing urea to feed nitrogen to the corn plants.
As for retail prices and what direction they could move in the coming months, Hall said nitrogen, phosphorus and potash prices could be slightly lower as the summer refill season begins for retailers. However, these price decreases could be fairly small, he said.
"We really don't know for sure, but once we start to see some (re-)fill prices, I think they are going to be coming in a little cheaper," he said.
All eight of the major fertilizers are now higher compared to last year with prices shifting higher. DAP is 3% higher, MAP is 4% more expensive, both potash and 10-34-0 are 11% higher, UAN28 is 12% more expensive; UAN32 is 13% higher, anhydrous is 17% more expensive and urea is 19% higher compared to last year.
DTN collects roughly 1,700 retail fertilizer bids from 310 retailer locations weekly. Not all fertilizer prices change each week. Prices are subject to change at any time.
DTN Pro Grains subscribers can find current retail fertilizer price in the DTN Fertilizer Index on the Fertilizer page under Farm Business.
Retail fertilizer charts dating back to 2010 are available in the DTN fertilizer segment. The charts included cost of N/lb., DAP, MAP, potash, urea, 10-34-0, anhydrous, UAN28 and UAN32.
| DRY |
| Date Range | DAP | MAP | POTASH | UREA |
| Jun 18-22 2018 | 485 | 505 | 354 | 364 |
| Jul 16-20 2018 | 486 | 505 | 354 | 366 |
| Aug 13-17 2018 | 487 | 508 | 356 | 363 |
| Sep 10-14 2018 | 491 | 518 | 362 | 380 |
| Oct 8-12 2018 | 501 | 523 | 365 | 393 |
| Nov 5-9 2018 | 506 | 529 | 368 | 407 |
| Dec 3-7 2018 | 501 | 529 | 369 | 410 |
| Dec 31-Jan 4 2019 | 508 | 533 | 381 | 407 |
| Jan 28-Feb 1 2019 | 513 | 536 | 384 | 407 |
| Feb 25-Mar 01 2019 | 511 | 535 | 386 | 404 |
| Mar 25-29 2019 | 509 | 534 | 385 | 401 |
| Apr 22-26 2019 | 497 | 530 | 388 | 408 |
| May 20-24 2019 | 497 | 527 | 392 | 428 |
| Jun 17-21 2019 | 496 | 532 | 392 | 435 |
| Liquid |
| Date Range | 10-34-0 | ANHYD | UAN28 | UAN32 |
| Jun 18-22 2018 | 440 | 503 | 242 | 277 |
| Jul 16-20 2018 | 442 | 503 | 243 | 279 |
| Aug 13-17 2018 | 446 | 481 | 233 | 271 |
| Sep 10-14 2018 | 449 | 487 | 238 | 278 |
| Oct 8-12 2018 | 452 | 488 | 238 | 280 |
| Nov 5-9 2018 | 458 | 517 | 245 | 287 |
| Dec 3-7 2018 | 457 | 524 | 249 | 293 |
| Dec 31-Jan 4 2019 | 460 | 571 | 267 | 304 |
| Jan 28-Feb 1 2019 | 468 | 585 | 271 | 313 |
| Feb 25-Mar 01 2019 | 470 | 596 | 270 | 318 |
| Mar 25-29 2019 | 470 | 597 | 269 | 318 |
| Apr 22-26 2019 | 483 | 594 | 268 | 315 |
| May 20-24 2019 | 487 | 595 | 270 | 314 |
| Jun 17-21 2019 | 487 | 589 | 270 | 318 |
Russ Quinn can be reached at russ.quinn@dtn.com
Follow him on Twitter @RussQuinnDTN
(KD/BAS)
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