Will we ration fertilizer this coming year?

[Hopperbin]

Just did an estimate of fertilizer costs.
460 per ton blendable S
700 per ton 12-51
70 cents per lb actual N as anhydrous estimate.

This fertiler bill will come to 380,000 dollars for my 4500 acre farm, a record.

I tell you our publicly traded fertilizer companies are cheap now.
Glad I am in an area that grew a crop, would be hard to swallow this one with not much crop to sell. Perhaps those farmers can reighn these companies in a little before I buy. Perhaps soil testing should be in order this year.

[furrowtickler]

We will do the same as last year. Put on what is needed for an ave crop at seeding time and if crop/market conditions warant it and fert is not gone stupid high we will topdress. But yes, even basic needs are going to hurt if we bought now. Fert prices have been dropping in Eruope the past month. We have loaded up before and fall applied and giver the juice in the spring only to watch a three year drought kick us in the teeth, or have it all freeze in August. Much more conservative now about how much we spend ahead of time. Also I would see what kind of return policy is in place is you get flooded out as was evident in the eastern praries over the past two years. Would kinda suck to spend half a mill 6 months before you need it then worry about it the next year and a half if you take delivery.

[SASKFARMER3]

Just done soil tests on 80% of our acres, AH a little surprise and a good surprise. 2010 torrential rain did huge damage but 2011 was different and had rain but only one major stupid event. Now 2 inches since last Friday don't need any more moisture till June.
Fert is way to high priced its ridiculous. Natural gas is stupidly low yet anhydrous is through the roof. Personally with all the problems in world maybe not a year to get overly excited. They wont pay us for products we produce so f&$* then with a average crop. This notion farmers will produce to feed the world is BS.

[SASKFARMER3]

I agree Furrow since 2002 we have taken a different approach to farming. This throw every dollar at a crop right up till the night it freezes gets you Richie Brothers sale quicker than anything.
We budget for a decent crop and then top dress if "Weather" allows us good growing conditions. If not don't need.
Example talked to neighbor who kept giving his crop every thing till harvest and guess what it yielded the same so who is further ahead. Dealer who sold him his drugs.

[malleefarmer]

We have a fert company here in SA called direct
farm inputs.I was involved initially china and India
cal the shots in fert pricing.wil add more info
about costs savings achievable it's around 15 to
20 percent but of course all companies drop
there price once a no frills company starts up.

and it's not that hard to do.

[Hopperbin]

We used to be told by our suppliers that cost of natural gas was setting the price of n fert. now they tell us the price of nateral gas has no bearing on the price of N fert. and the price is historically the highest. What are you guys paying for N there would be very interesting.
Even FNA who we pay membership fees to has no interest in dealing with N fert as the price will drop and no profit in it for them. Not exactly a farmer member organization in reality.