Let the fleecing begin!

[SASKFARMER3]

Now yes the Americans are ahead of us again and developed a ethanol industry and the EU a Bio Diesel industry and this is all because the Liberals and their AG policy was to grow trees and telling farmers that they are the problem not the solution to Ag's problems.
So now we are in a situation where Natural Gas is at an all time low, The powers that be Westco Fertilizer is Jacking the price of Anhydrous by 75% from the fall price because the US is going to need fertilizer for their huge switch to corn and unfortunately Canadians will have to pay for this threw higher prices.
Now they are saying that our grain prices are going up so we can afford to pay the extra. Ha Canola is up 50% from last year but did anhydrous drop when canola dropped in value for two years, the answer is know, but the American system helps out in bad years with help from their governments but in Canada its a dream.
On the fert side its Westco who this week is taking independent suppliers (and all staff) to Las Vegas for 4 days to train them for the New Ag industry that's coming. Doesnt that make you scream when they can gouge you and give the farmer nothing in return but play the big shots and spend on their sales force.
.37lb to my tank latest quote and getting worse.
Its time to look at bringing in off shore N again.

[wd9]

You didn't actually think you were going to hold onto that profit from better grain prices - did you SF3?

[wd9]

Saskfarmer, I though you were quoted 535/mt??

[SASKFARMER3]

I did actually think I would be able to clear up all the 02 03 04 losses this year and start making serious cash in 07 but we will have to look at how to get their a little slower now. But the increase in the anhydrous $30,000.00 should be off set to some extent by lower diesel costs and lower seed and if FNA is able to access WO wheat generic then we will get their. Have land rents locked in for three more years so that is a constant also.

[SASKFARMER3]

Was just week before Xmas but since then our guy has had a change of heart and at that time canola was heading south and with no sales to year end cash flow was tight. So if were going up its going to get ugly further out from plant.

[SASKFARMER3]

Its up 30% on our farm!Volume is high as we buy as group of 3 guys 24000 acres.

[furrowtickler]

I had a feeling that n fert was going to hurt this year. Fert companies took a bath last year, to a point, with high fall prices and lower spring prices, they will make sure that situation will not happen again. It is too bad that most people in our area had no cash flow in oct. to pre buy n.
Instead of investing in more ethonal and bio-diesel plants should we look at a co-operative farmer owned n fert plant? I don't know if it is possible/feasable but I know we live in an area with lots of N-gas.

[SASKFARMER3]

Its simple we had one guy liquidate some of his canola at 6.25 a bushel 25 rail cars in fall and paid his bills plus bought fert, but what he made in savings on fert ($51,000) he lost in canola sales (200,000) So who is right and who is wrong.

[AdamSmith]

Not that it's going to help in '07, but I'm seriously considering going back to fall banding.

Even though I've fully switched to one pass. My thoughts are that it's the only way to capture the lowest price of NH3. Even if I knife in NH3 on the wheat stubble for next years canola.

The other thing I've been wondering about was not putting as much on at seeding time but wait and top dress in-crop. But I'm not sure if the price of N is any lower after the seeding rush? If it isn't I'm not sure there is any great advantage.

[SASKFARMER3]

Were in the process of getting a 40ft coulter bar to do the same thing in fall with gas.
Top dressing we looked at and its funny the price would go down in June and then up in fall but that ended a few years ago when they figured it out that farmers were putting N on in crop with their sprayers etc.

[wd9]

The really smart farmer SF3 took out a cash advance from CCGA, bought the fertilizer interest free (at least 100,000 worth and the rest interest bearing) and sold the canola today. The government has given great programs, all you have to do is use them.

[SASKFARMER3]

Yea the advance is available but when you loose 1,000,000.00 (02,03,04) and get nothing from casip your using the advance for other things. So yes its a good program.
Also 100000 wont buy me much in line of Fert.

[AdamSmith]

I bought NH3 for $450/t for mid-row banding when I seeded winter wheat.

This was our local AU's fall applied price, fall applied only.

By the time they came out with a prebuy for '07 the price was over $600/t at Xmas was at $700/t

It looks to me like the fert manufactures and distributors want to entice farmers back into applying some in the fall again.

Really cheap in the fall and really expensive in the spring. So if they are going to reward a farmer for fall application why not take advantage. In fact I think my germination might even be better on my canola if I disturb the soil a little bit with the knives in the fall.

I'll sit on the tractor for 10 or 15 days in the fall for $30,000 .

[furrowtickler]

I had a fear that this was going to happen, get everyone into one pass seeding then stick it to them. Either buy n and put it on, store on farm or pay through the nose for spring. The fact is the fert companies want to do away with pre-buy alltogether without delivery. I think the days are gone were one could go in and pre-buy nov/dec then pick up in the spring - in the near future, JMO.
With the price of diesel and depreciation pre hr on a 300-450hp tractor it is not cheap to fall band anymore either. We put on 40% less hrs/yr now that we do not fall band. Just some thoughts.

[furrowtickler]

SaskFarmer3, 100,000 should get you well over half with your Nitrogen.