Secure fertiliser now or risk missing first applications

Farmers are being urged to act now to secure supplies of nitrogen fertiliser for spring and early summer use, or risk missing first applications. Volumes available for import to the UK have fallen dramatically this year, and orders must be placed immediately if fertiliser is to reach farms in time.

“The ongoing energy crisis in the United States has seen gas supplies normally used to manufacture fertiliser diverted to meet domestic energy demand,” explains KW Alternative Feeds national fertiliser manager Ian Moseley. “Fertiliser plants have been shut down as manufacturers cashed in on a rising energy market by simply selling off gas bought in to produce ammonium nitrate.”

As a result, replacement fertiliser for the United States home market has been sourced from plants throughout Europe, and at a higher price than the UK market is prepared to pay. This has left the quantity available on the world market severely depleted.

“Recent years have seen the removal of 3.0m tonnes of manufacturing capacity within the European Union to bring supply and demand back into line,” continues Mr Moseley. “This was the right move, until Ireland cut out a further 1.0m tonnes of capacity last year and the United States entered the market as a major importer. With no new manufacturing plants being built, the market has been left severely undersupplied.”

Forecasts for the current year predict a total UK fertiliser market of 4.2m tonnes, down from a high of around 5.0m tonnes in the late 1990s. But ammonium nitrate is predicted to account for 2.2m tonnes of the total, up 200,000 tonnes on 2003 due to increased winter crop plantings last autumn and the proposed set-aside cut to 5%.

“Of the 2.2m tonnes of ammonium nitrate needed to satisfy UK demand, only around 1.0m tonnes is home produced. Another 600,000 tonnes is brought in from western Europe, leaving a further 600,000 tonnes to be sourced elsewhere, up from around 400,000 tonnes last year,” states Mr Moseley.

“Although prices have remained static over the last couple of months, with only around 50% of early grassland fertilisers secured, supplies could be hard to find if orders aren’t placed until the weather warms up,” he insists. “Many livestock producers could find themselves waiting much longer for deliveries, and be left without sufficient nitrogen to cover both grazing needs and first cut aftermaths.”