New Records Set for Fertilizer Costs

Sky-high fertilizer prices continue as anhydrous ammonia set a new record last week at $1,113/ton, a 38% hike from last month. The seven other major fertilizers increased anywhere from 9% to 36%. The rate of increase continues to be uncharacteristically high, as typically an increase of 5% is considered to be significant. The hikes come as supply chain disruptions exacerbate already high input costs. Other record prices seen this week include UAN at $545/ton, UAN32 at $604/ton and urea at $820/ton. The University of Illinois updated crop budgets to factor in higher fertilizer prices and anticipate per-acre fertilizer costs will be about $100/acre higher for corn and $50/acre higher for soybeans than last year. Despite the fertilizer prices, corn is projected to be the more profitable crop, if prices stay near fall delivery bids of $5 corn and $12 soybeans. Read more on fertilizer prices and acreage calculations here.