By Russ Quinn
DTN Staff Reporter
OMAHA (DTN) -- Retail fertilizer prices tracked by DTN for the first week of December 2019 continued to move lower. One change from recent weeks is all eight of the major fertilizer are now lower after several weeks of seven of the eight being lower.
While all eight of the major fertilizers were lower in price from the month earlier, only one was significantly lower, which DTN designates as 5% or more. UAN32 was 5% lower compared to last month and the nitrogen fertilizer had an average price of $276.
The remaining seven fertilizers were lower in price, but none were considerably lower. DAP had an average price of $445/ton, MAP $463/ton, potash $379/ton, urea $381/ton, 10-34-0 $470/ton, anhydrous $490/ton and UAN28 $242/ton.
On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.41/lb.N, anhydrous $0.30/lb.N, UAN28 $0.43/lb.N and UAN32 $0.43/lb.N.
As we approach the end of the year many farmers will purchase various inputs for tax purposes. Among the inputs farmers will buy is fertilizer for the next growing season.
I was curious to know what percentage of farmers buy ahead, so I put up a poll on Twitter. I will freely admit when I first joined Twitter didn't know how it would benefit me, but it is very useful as an easy way to reach the farmers who follow me.
My poll question: "So I was curious to know how farmers are handling their fertilizer needs as we close in on year end. What best describes your situation?" The answer choices were: Locking in all nutrients; Locking in some nutrients; and Not locking in nutrients.
My one-day poll had 25 respondents with 54% choosing "Locking in all nutrients". Twenty-nine percent responded with not locking in nutrients and 17% selected locking in some nutrients.
I really wasn't surprised by the results. I figured a majority would say they locked in all or some of their needs.
It was a little surprising that not locking in nutrients was the second most popular response. This poll shows that while some farmers might be willing to lock in all of their fertilizer needs before the end of the year, a certain percentage of farmers will not be doing this.
Retail fertilizers are mixed in price from a year ago. MAP is now 13% less expensive, DAP is 11% lower, urea is 7% less expensive, both anhydrous and UAN32 are 6% lower and UAN28 is 1% less expensive 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 |
| 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 |
| Jul 15-19, 2019 | 497 | 532 | 392 | 430 |
| Aug 12-16 2019 | 493 | 503 | 387 | 413 |
| Sep 9-13 2019 | 486 | 482 | 385 | 407 |
| Oct 7-11, 2019 | 472 | 473 | 383 | 403 |
| Nov 4-8 2019 | 462 | 471 | 384 | 396 |
| Dec 2-6 2019 | 445 | 463 | 379 | 381 |
| LIQUID |
| Date Range | 10-34-0 | ANHYD | UAN28 | UAN32 |
| 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 |
| Jul 15-19, 2019 | 485 | 585 | 275 | 317 |
| Aug 12-16 2019 | 475 | 543 | 258 | 295 |
| Sep 9-13 2019 | 471 | 516 | 253 | 289 |
| Oct 7-11, 2019 | 470 | 509 | 253 | 289 |
| Nov 4-8 2019 | 473 | 499 | 249 | 289 |
| Dec 2-6 2019 | 470 | 490 | 242 | 276 |
Russ Quinn can be reached at russ.quinn@dtn.com
Follow him on Twitter @RussQuinnDTN
(CZ/SK)
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