Explain why our inputs are way higher than US farmers

[SASKFARMER3]

Some one explain to me why inputs for us farmers are way cheaper than our inputs in Canada.
Anhydrous I know its a dead horse to most farmers but why is the price way cheaper down their than here yet it comes from Canada and abroad.
Nitrogen selling for 430 a ton in the Delta of Ark.
..In the panhandle of Texas,they are now paying $470/ton for NH3. That's 589 Canadian or .32 cents a lb.
In Kansas last week were Paying 30 cents per # for anhy That's $616 Canadian or .34
One thing is for certain their seeding in these areas corn we wont start for over a month this is their price pretty much constant all way from panhandle to North Dakota yet once it hits the Canadian border (hm our gas and plants) it goes to $1000.00 a ton or more or .55 a lb.
Why? Some fertilizer expert please explain this one since last week when I was south of the 49th I phoned and talked to a lot of farmers and all yes all had close to the same price it started with a .3 and not a.5 like Canada.
Were getting Royally Screwed.

[sawfly]

i guess if they can screw us they will.

we are gonna have to do the same thing, we did with glyphosate. find an alternate source and stick with it.
even when the regular suppliers drop their prices to compete .

it will take a certian % of farmers to bring in enough 46-0-0 from the middle east or somewhere else to get them to realize that they are gonna lose the market.

the problem is when the locals drop their price, farmers drift back to them and give the power back.

just speculation but the USA has a lot better competition laws than Canada. maybe their not afraid of govt. or farmers here.

Where as in the US farmers are a political force or some farm groups could sue for price fixing or something.

For this spring all we can do is make noise and suffer.

Hopefully this fall we will remember the screw job we got and bypass the big guys.

we are set up for NH3, and I have been concerned about how vulnerable that makes us for priceing.

time to switch to granular, at least you can lock in your cost that way.

[Burbert]

Well said sawfly. Generally us Canadian farmers are so independent, it makes us stupid. Co-ops are commie, marketing agencies are commie, group purchases, won't be tolerated, business won't even sell to a group greater than one. We are tearing ourselves apart in this great nation. We want a few land barons in place to do the farming, lets get rid of the little guys. The squeeze is on boys, maybe we'll all have to become orgasmic farmers. That reminds me of a joke, "One day an old farmer was watching a lady of the night sell her wares. His comment was, boys she has a good product, she sells it, afterwards she has still got it, and then she sells it again, talk about win/win, truly marketing at another level, the ultimate put!"

[TOM4CWB]

Saskfarmer,

The large volumes of NH3 comes from offshore... and are shipped north.

While this does not account for all the difference... it is not cheap or easy to transport NH3.

CDN producers of NH3 do not easily arbitage down because of freight and contracting issues with fertilizer supply.

The market is simply not big enough, and the anti-competition laws stong enough in Canada to have a world competitive price in the CDN prairie for NH3.

Talk to your MP, I will bring this up this week at our meeting. Please do the same, COnservative MP's are very receptive to this kind of initiative... if we have a majority gov. we could put some real teeth into the Competition Act!

[SASKFARMER3]

Tom the off shore NH3 could be explained by the cheaper the price the closer to the gulf.
But ND is also .37 today doing all the cost analysis.
Also one of the other guys is correct the US companies are scared sh-t less from the Rural power in the government.
A few years back there was suppose to-be a increase in Nitrogen and right away the US govt threatened to start an inquiry.
No one in the USA ticks off uncle SAM. Both tax or anything else. To bad the same couldn't be said for Canada.

[BennyHin]

As the old saying goes, "if you snooze you lose".

All last fall there was lots of information from a variety of reports suggesting US corn acres were going to go thru the roof in 2007. Any one with some agronomic knowledge should have realized what impact this would have on Nitrogen fertilizer demand.

Similar to petroleum production, the manufactures of fertilizers cannot increase production in anticipation of record demand. Their capacities are limited to what their facilities can produce, and the transportation available to move their product to market.

Luckily I applied all my fertilizer last fall, and pre bought all my dry requirements last fall in anticipation of these record corn acres. I anticipated the market, and took a position.

This time I was lucky. Next time....who knows.


Welcome to the real world of marketing.


PS:
For those of you who continue to say you can market your ag commodities on your own, because you have internet access and all the same information that the grain merchants have at their disposal: How well did you call the fertilizer markets this year?

It's not that easy, is it?

[parsley]

The CWB will continue to market grain FOR you BennyHinn.

Well, lobby them to market fertilizer TO you as well. They can market for the fert companies TO you. They'll get the job done. Lobby now, so the B of D can add that function for you.

Parsley

[Ron]

sorry, cant respond without swearing. want to, but cant do it. (CWB, 80%, no movement, cashflow, dumping nonboard to get cashflow, argh!!!)

[silverback]

Please point out where it was that you told us NH3 was going to $1000 and Urea to $650.

Are you also saying that usually you never prebuy or fall apply fertilizer, but this year you realized that prices were going to spike so you did?

Even CP who tells us that he is addicted to charts and technicals was surprised by the jump in prices this winter - judging from his comments here.

I trust you are planting at least 75% board crops this year to support the CWB?

[parsley]

Ron,

You need a lesson in how to swear.

Parsley

[SASKFARMER3]

Ben hill you must have a crystal ball that you could read that Fert was going to go through the roof in CANADA
This post is the difference in Price between the two countries.
Not how we are at marketing.
Why are American farmers getting a deal and in Canada were getting screwed.
Yeah BLA BLA how you bought all your fert last fall and banded then have all your dry for spring.
So congrats your a really smart guy.
But the post is on the difference between US farmers pay and Canadian.

[cottonpicken]

Surprised?
On jan 20 my guess was 700$ by april 1.
I guess i missed it by a few weeks.

So needless to say i bought and binned 120% of my needs in october for 330 a ton.

[sawfly]

saskfarmer has a good point. this is a huge issue.
Maybe we have some political voice now , but that can change any time.

As group we have huge economic power. Sadly we dont use it.
Burbet is right in that , we are too busy fighting amongst ourselves to get anything done.

Instead every farmer should at least do one thing , that benifits us as a whole.

It may have been a pain for the few that brought in carloads of 46-0-0 thru FNA , a year ago.
As soon as it happened, the price dropped 50$ tonne for everyone.

the fert. chem .grain. rail companies are doing their job extracting every possible $ out of the market.(their managers would be fired if they didn't)

if the fert. co.s can gouge in canada and not in the states they will.

However you want to do it a co-op, corporation , We have to make competition where none exists, or we will be peons forever.

[sawfly]

So Benny what's your plan this fall?? You think you're going to see $350 by fall again?? See how well you do this year.

I bought all mine last fall also, but I know I'm screwed this fall. Because we will get offered a price in fall for $500 and will all jump at it.

[silverback]

That may be true cp, but in late dec or early jan you were expressing surprise at 46 prices in the mid $400's.

Whatever you say, you are still the smartest one here.