When will fertilizer prices start to fall?

Gerald Pilger emailed to say the combination of high fertilizer prices and falling grain prices is "pretty discouraging." Gerald farms near Ohaton, Alta., and is a regular contributor to Grainews. He's on hiatus right now while he runs for District 2 director of the Canadian Wheat Board.

Gerald writes: "Farmers in this area are really wondering about fall fertilization this year. I have checked prices at all the suppliers in Camrose and urea is $900 per tonne and anhydrous ammonia is $1,500 per tonne. That works out to 88 cents per pound for urea and 82 cents for NH3. This is double what it was last fall and about 20 cents per pound more than this spring."

I just finished editing Mike Jubinville's market report for the October 20 Grainews. He wrote on the topic of fertilizer, and here is a paragraph from his report that will interest you:

"Nitrogen and phosphorus prices have dipped on the wholesale market, though the retail price for what farmers pay for fertilizer has yet to see a noticeable decline. PFCanada maintains its view that growers should hold off fertilizer pricing commitments for the time being as retail values are likely to start moving off the summer highs. Let’s see what happens to fertilizer prices in the coming months before locking in prices."

Look for the whole report in your next Grainews.