By Russ Quinn
DTN Staff Reporter
OMAHA (DTN) -- Retail fertilizer prices continue to be lower, according to prices tracked by DTN for the second week of December 2019, continuing a trend that's been in place for several months.
All eight of the major fertilizers were lower in price from the month earlier, but none were statistically notable. DTN designates a significant price change as a move of 5% or more.
DAP had an average price of $445/ton, down $12; MAP $463/ton, down $2; potash $378/ton, down $4; urea $380/ton, down $8; 10-34-0 $470/ton, down $3; anhydrous $489/ton, down $7; UAN28 $241/ton, down $5; and UAN32 $276/ton, down $8.
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.
With winter weather in place over most of the Corn Belt, the University of Illinois revisited how fertilizer can move on frozen and snow-covered soil. Titled "Nutrient movement off frozen and snow-covered soils" and written by Emerson Nafziger, the report examined what happened in Illinois during the first week of March last spring when farmers applied a considerable amount of phosphorous (P) and potash (K) to the frozen soil surface.
In many locations south of Interstate 80 an inch or more of rain fell following fertilizer application in early March 2019. Most of the rain fell on March 9 and a great deal of the rainfall ran off the frozen soil surface, he wrote.
Several samples of water moving out of fields after this rainfall event were collected as part of the ongoing water monitoring that the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association (IFCA) conducts with the Keep It 4R Crop program.
In fields where P and K was not applied, average levels of chloride, nitrate-N, ammonium-N and phosphate-P were 2.3, 0.7, 0.7 and 0.3 parts per million (ppm).
Levels jumped significantly in fields where P and K were applied on frozen soils in early March, with an average of 39.0 ppm chloride, 1.2 ppm nitrate-N, 8.3 ppm ammonium-N and 19.1 ppm phosphate-P.
"Both MAP and KCI are highly soluble in water, though, and the elevated chloride (K wasn't measured), ammonium and phosphate levels are a clear indication that the rain dissolved fertilizer nutrients and moved them off the field," Nafziger wrote.
To read the entire University of Illinois report go to http://bulletin.ipm.illinois.edu.
Retail fertilizers are mixed in price from a year ago. MAP is now 13% less expensive, DAP is 12% lower, anhydrous is 11% less expensive, UAN32 is 9% lower, UAN28 is 8% lower and urea is 7% less expensive from last year at this time. In addition, potash is 1% higher and 10-34-0 is 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 10-14 2018 | 505 | 533 | 375 | 407 |
| Jan 7-11 2019 | 508 | 533 | 381 | 407 |
| Feb 4-8 2019 | 511 | 536 | 385 | 408 |
| Mar 4-8 2019 | 510 | 534 | 386 | 403 |
| Apr 1-5 2019 | 509 | 533 | 386 | 405 |
| Apr 29-May 3 2019 | 498 | 528 | 390 | 413 |
| May 27-31 2019 | 497 | 527 | 392 | 430 |
| Jun 24-28, 2019 | 495 | 531 | 392 | 429 |
| Jul 22-26 2019 | 495 | 531 | 394 | 430 |
| Aug 19-23 2019 | 491 | 495 | 387 | 413 |
| Sep 16-20 2019 | 480 | 478 | 384 | 404 |
| Oct 14-18, 2019 | 465 | 472 | 382 | 402 |
| Nov 11-15 2019 | 457 | 465 | 382 | 388 |
| Dec 9-13 2019 | 445 | 463 | 378 | 380 |
| Liquid |
| Date Range | 10-34-0 | ANHYD | UAN28 | UAN32 |
| Dec 10-14 2018 | 455 | 552 | 261 | 302 |
| Jan 7-11 2019 | 461 | 573 | 267 | 304 |
| Feb 4-8 2019 | 470 | 596 | 271 | 318 |
| Mar 4-8 2019 | 470 | 596 | 270 | 317 |
| Apr 1-5 2019 | 474 | 599 | 272 | 319 |
| Apr 29-May 3 2019 | 487 | 595 | 268 | 315 |
| May 27-31 2019 | 487 | 590 | 270 | 314 |
| Jun 24-28, 2019 | 487 | 584 | 269 | 318 |
| Jul 22-26 2019 | 485 | 582 | 272 | 320 |
| Aug 19-23 2019 | 475 | 530 | 257 | 291 |
| Sep 16-20 2019 | 471 | 509 | 254 | 289 |
| Oct 14-18, 2019 | 471 | 507 | 253 | 289 |
| Nov 11-15 2019 | 473 | 496 | 246 | 284 |
| Dec 9-13 2019 | 470 | 489 | 241 | 276 |
Russ Quinn can be reached at russ.quinn@dtn.com
Follow him on Twitter @RussQuinnDTN
(CZ/SK)
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