(Lakefield, Mn.)– An increase in fertilizer prices is raising the brows of area ag producers. Andy Nesseth of Extended Ag Services in Lakefield says the increases have been quite noticeable recently across all the different types of fertilizers…
“I know from a number of suppliers that 32 percent has been increasing here over the last three or four months. A local supplier near us has probably gone up about 60 bucks a ton. I think you’re going to see as the old inventory gets kind of shook out and sold, you’re going to see some pricing, you know, follow everybody else. Anybody else sitting on some old inventory from the summer probably has an attractive price yet, but dry fertilizer has been following the same thing. I think map is up 32, or probably 100 bucks a ton; potash is probably up about 40, 50, 60 bucks a ton as well. So, you know, when we hear about these great prices and things going up that’s certainly great and it’s an opportunity for some farmers, but at the same time a lot of these other things start to change that as well. Margins end up remaining kind of similar sometimes, so.”
Nesseth says there’s no specific factor that is leading to the increase. He says supply doesn’t appear to be an issue as of right now, but he says the increases are likely to continue…
“I don’t see any reason to think it’s going to stop going up. I think some of the spike, it might be a little too late for some of those guys because the spike has already happened. Supply is not going to be the issue, it’s just about getting an attractive price and the same frankly goes for other inputs, too. Diesel, propane, those types of things.”
This is a critical time for farmers right now as they order inputs for the coming season.
