By Russ Quinn
DTN Staff Reporter
OMAHA (DTN) -- Independence Day may have been last week, but there were no fireworks in retail fertilizer prices.
Prices tracked by DTN for the first week of July 2019 show prices continue to be mixed with no fertilizer posting a significant price move, which DTN considers to be a change of 5% or more.
Four fertilizers were higher compared to last month. DAP had an average price of $498/ton, up $1; MAP $532/ton, up $5; UAN28 $276/ton, up $5; and UAN32 $317/ton, up $3.
Three fertilizers were slightly lower compared to last month. Urea had an average price of $432/ton, down $2; 10-34-0 $482/ton, down $5; and anhydrous $584/ton, down $7.
In addition, one fertilizer was unchanged from the previous month. Potash had an average price of $392/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 $0.49/lb.N and UAN32 $0.50/lb.N.
These are cloudy times for fertilizer retailers when it comes to what direction fertilizer prices could move in the short term. Some retailers believe summer refill prices could be somewhat lower, while others believe higher prices could be in the works as farmers begin to think about the fall fertilizer application season.
Fred Butt, sales agronomist for Donovan Farmers Coop located in Donovan, Illinois, said some fertilizer manufacturers are pushing for higher prices.
A major manufacturer already has higher prices for UAN, he said.
"But I don't know how successful they are going to be to get buyers," Butt told DTN.
Another nutrient that could see a price increase in the near term is potash. A major manufacturer came out a month ago with potash prices about $25/ton to $50/ton higher, he said.
"We bought some tons but not much," he said.
"In addition, issues with urea still sitting on barges on flooded Midwest rivers continue to make availability an issue. The nitrogen fertilizer continues to be hard to get, and this situation could be present until the flooding issues subsides somewhat," Butt said.
All eight of the major fertilizers are now higher compared to last year with prices shifting higher. DAP is 3% higher, MAP is 6% more expensive, 10-34-0 is 9% higher, potash is 11% more expensive, UAN32 is 13% higher, UAN28 is 14% more expensive, anhydrous is 16% more expensive and urea is 18% 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 |
| Jul 2-6 2018 | 485 | 504 | 354 | 366 |
| Jul 30- Aug 3 2018 | 488 | 505 | 355 | 366 |
| Aug 27-31 2018 | 487 | 513 | 357 | 365 |
| Sep 24-28 2018 | 494 | 520 | 361 | 385 |
| Oct 22-26 2018 | 499 | 518 | 366 | 406 |
| Nov 19-23 2018 | 501 | 530 | 368 | 407 |
| Dec 17-21 2018 | 508 | 532 | 377 | 407 |
| Jan 14-18 2019 | 512 | 534 | 383 | 407 |
| Feb 11-15 2019 | 512 | 537 | 385 | 405 |
| Mar 11-15 2019 | 510 | 534 | 386 | 402 |
| Apr 8-12 2019 | 505 | 532 | 387 | 404 |
| May 6-10 2019 | 501 | 527 | 391 | 418 |
| Jun 3-7 2019 | 497 | 527 | 392 | 434 |
| Jul 1-5, 2019 | 498 | 532 | 392 | 432 |
| Liquid |
| Date Range | 10-34-0 | ANHYD | UAN28 | UAN32 |
| Jul 2-6 2018 | 443 | 505 | 242 | 279 |
| Jul 30- Aug 3 2018 | 443 | 498 | 242 | 279 |
| Aug 27-31 2018 | 446 | 480 | 233 | 271 |
| Sep 24-28 2018 | 449 | 493 | 236 | 278 |
| Oct 22-26 2018 | 457 | 499 | 243 | 284 |
| Nov 19-23 2018 | 457 | 520 | 246 | 287 |
| Dec 17-21 2018 | 457 | 565 | 265 | 304 |
| Jan 14-18 2019 | 462 | 580 | 270 | 305 |
| Feb 11-15 2019 | 470 | 596 | 271 | 318 |
| Mar 11-15 2019 | 469 | 596 | 269 | 318 |
| Apr 8-12 2019 | 481 | 592 | 271 | 317 |
| May 6-10 2019 | 487 | 595 | 267 | 310 |
| Jun 3-7 2019 | 487 | 591 | 271 | 314 |
| Jul 1-5, 2019 | 482 | 584 | 276 | 317 |
Russ Quinn can be reached at russ.quinn@dtn.com
Follow him on Twitter @RussQuinnDTN
(KD/BAS)
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