By Russ Quinn
DTN Staff Reporter
OMAHA (DTN) -- Retail fertilizer prices continue mostly lower, according to retailers tracked by DTN for the fourth week of November 2019.
Seven of the eight major fertilizers were lower in price from a month earlier, although once again none were noticeably lower. DAP had an average price of $456/ton, MAP $465/ton, potash $381/ton, urea $386/ton, anhydrous $497/ton, UAN28 $245/ton and UAN32 $277/ton.
The remaining fertilizer was slightly higher than last month. 10-34-0 had an average price of $472/ton.
On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.42/lb.N, anhydrous $0.30/lb.N, UAN28 $0.44/lb.N and UAN32 $0.43/lb.N.
Harvest occurred on many wet soils this fall across a good portion of the Corn Belt and this could affect how farmers apply fertilizer. In a post titled "How Soil Compaction Impacts Fertilizer Decisions" University of Minnesota Extension specialist Dan Kaiser, Extension educator Brad Carlson and soil scientist Jeff Vetsch tackled this subject.
Compaction creates barriers that limit root growth, impacting the uptake of nutrients and thus limiting yields. Most nutrients with limited mobility in the soil move via diffusion through soil water and compaction makes the soil less porous, which could affect the movement of some nutrients.
"Data from Wisconsin has shown adding potassium to the soil increases alfalfa yield," the report stated. "Other data has shown a similar link between increased yield and higher levels of magnesium (Mg) in compacted situations."
The University of Minnesota does not have specific research-based recommendations for compacted soils, according to the report.
One method of avoiding fertilizer loss due to compaction issues is to delay fertilizer application until the field is in better condition. Applying fertilizer in the spring instead of in the fall will likely decrease the likelihood of nitrogen losses.
The report said research has shown severe compaction can affect yield for many years and the best plan is to try to avoid severe compaction at all costs. This may test your patience at the moment but longer term your crops will thank you for years to come, the report concludes.
The entire University of Minnesota Extension report can be viewed at https://blog-crop-news.extension.umn.edu/….
Retail fertilizers are mixed in price from a year ago. MAP is now 12% less expensive, DAP is 9% lower, urea is 6% less expensive, anhydrous is 4% lower, UAN32 is 3% less expensive and UAN28 is 1% lower from last year at this time. In addition, both potash and 10-34-0 are 3% more expensive 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 |
| Nov 26-30 2018 | 501 | 530 | 369 | 409 |
| Dec 24-28 2018 | 507 | 533 | 379 | 407 |
| Jan 21-25 2019 | 512 | 535 | 383 | 409 |
| Feb 18-22 2019 | 512 | 536 | 385 | 404 |
| Mar 18-22 2019 | 509 | 533 | 386 | 401 |
| Apr 15-19 2019 | 504 | 531 | 388 | 404 |
| May 13-17 2019 | 498 | 526 | 392 | 426 |
| Jun 10-14 2019 | 497 | 527 | 392 | 434 |
| Jul 8-12, 2019 | 497 | 532 | 392 | 431 |
| Aug 5-9 2019 | 495 | 531 | 395 | 428 |
| Sep 2-6 2019 | 491 | 488 | 387 | 408 |
| Sep 30-Oct 4, 2019 | 476 | 474 | 384 | 404 |
| Oct 28-Nov 1 2019 | 464 | 472 | 383 | 402 |
| Nov 25-29 2019 | 456 | 465 | 381 | 386 |
| LIQUID |
| Date Range | 10-34-0 | ANHYD | UAN28 | UAN32 |
| Nov 26-30 2018 | 457 | 519 | 246 | 287 |
| Dec 24-28 2018 | 457 | 568 | 266 | 303 |
| Jan 21-25 2019 | 467 | 584 | 270 | 313 |
| Feb 18-22 2019 | 470 | 596 | 271 | 317 |
| Mar 18-22 2019 | 470 | 597 | 270 | 318 |
| Apr 15-19 2019 | 481 | 594 | 270 | 317 |
| May 13-17 2019 | 487 | 595 | 267 | 311 |
| Jun 10-14 2019 | 487 | 591 | 271 | 314 |
| Jul 8-12, 2019 | 485 | 585 | 276 | 317 |
| Aug 5-9 2019 | 491 | 580 | 272 | 320 |
| Sep 2-6 2019 | 473 | 522 | 255 | 290 |
| Sep 30-Oct 4, 2019 | 470 | 511 | 253 | 289 |
| Oct 28-Nov 1 2019 | 468 | 503 | 251 | 291 |
| Nov 25-29 2019 | 472 | 497 | 245 | 277 |
Russ Quinn can be reached at russ.quinn@dtn.com
Follow him on Twitter @RussQuinnDTN
(SK/CZ)
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