Fertilizer prices have been on a rollercoaster over the past several years. Kreg Ruhl, vice president of crop nutrients for Growmark, says it’s an historically unique situation for farmers if you go back and look at 2019 compared to now.
“That was kind of coming out of a period of oversupply, so those were probably historically low prices. And then when you introduce all the unrest that we’ve seen in Europe and the energy complex over there, that drove a period of historically high prices. So, we’re kind of comparing the worst to the best in the recent past which is unique.”
Ruhl says nitrogen demand stayed steady throughout that rollercoaster ride because that’s just not something you can easily skip, but phosphates and potash took a big volume hit during that time because farmers can mine the soil for those for a couple years.
“Farmers that had been mining this soil for the last couple years have taken off two big crops, they’re looking at potentially a third one. So, they’re having to evaluate it from a business perspective of it’s time to reinvest in the soil and make sure that they don’t start compromising their own yield outputs trying to save a dollar or two.”
Ruhl says decisions the past couple of years have been driven by scarcity and fear of supply shortages. He thinks we’ve turned the corner on that front.
How can Growmark help you prepare for what’s ahead?
“At Growmark, we’ve got over 600 crop specialists in the countryside working face to face with farmers at the farm gate every day. That’s our key resource to helping people make good decisions. Every single local geography has a different supply and demand balance, has a different product preference, has different agronomic practices, so working with those local experts is really the way we can help the best.”
To learn more about Growmark’s fertilizer offerings, visit growmark.com.
