Agricultural News
Corey Rosenbusch with The Fertilizer Institute Feels Confident about Fertilizer Supplies
Mon, 09 May 2022 12:57:36 CDT
During the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Washington Watch, Farm Director, KC Sheperd was able to visit with Corey Rosenbusch, President and CEO of The Fertilizer Institute. With spring planting underway, Sheperd and Rosenbusch talk about fertilizer application and availability.
"We are the most popular topic in town," Rosenbusch said, "or least popular, depending on how you look at it."
Everyone is very concerned about prices, Rosenbusch said. Coming into this spring planting season, there was a lot of discussion on the availability and whether the supply would be there, he added.
"I was out with a group of farmers in Illinois a few months ago and they were talking a little bit about their experience going into the fall, wanting to do some tax planning and prepay for some fertilizer, and they couldn't get a price from their retailer," Rosenbusch said.
Rosenbusch said not knowing the prices yet is triggering a lot of farmers to think, there is no supply available.
"That's not the case," Rosenbusch said. "I think we are all feeling confident about supply going into spring planting."
The problem is the risk, Rosenbusch said, because there has been volatility in the market and a lot of the ag retailers weren't willing to take a long position that early on without understanding where the market was going to be at that time.
"It was a little bit of a communication gap that we had to bridge, but I think we eventually got there," Rosenbusch said. "Prices are still elevated going into spring, but other than typical supply chain challenges, we see in a just-in-time product in a very narrow planting window, we should be fine for the spring."
TFI, Rosenbusch said, is the voice of the fertilizer industry. TFI represents the entire fertilizer supply chain from manufacturers all the way up to ag retailers, he added.
"That includes importers, wholesalers, and distributors," Rosenbusch said. "We have recently brought in the micronutrients into our fold.
TFI now has a biostimulant council that is part of their fold, Rosenbusch said, which will help enhance fertilizer technology to make fertilizer more efficient and productive, resulting in higher yields.
"We advocate in Washington D.C., we provide business development networking and services for our members, and a big core component of what we focus on is nutrient stewardship as well," Rosenbusch said. "Ensuring that farmers are using fertilizers in the right source, rate, time, and place."
Depending on where you are or what your cropping system is, Rosenbusch said there are many factors that must be put into place.
"I will say, we had a very strong fall application, and some are using that in terms of the predictor of why we are going to be okay for spring," Rosenbusch said. "Temperatures were just right, and soil temperatures were just right. When you think about corn, a lot of that anhydrous will get knifed in during the fall and have a very good anhydrous rate in the corn belt."
The whole concept of nutrient stewardship is about being efficient, Rosenbusch said. If there was ever a time that you want to be efficient with how much you spend on fertilizer, now is that time, he added.
"Soil mapping, variable rate application, how you make that buck go the furthest in this market, is something we encourage everyone to work with their ag retailer on," Rosenbusch said. "We represent a lot of ag retailers, so we would say talk to your retail agronomist, work up a nutrient management plan and get their advice and direction on what is needed so that you ensure you have the supply coming up."
Rosenbusch said TFI does a significant retail agronomy conference called "Info Ag" in Saint Louis in the summer where they look at the future, technology, and what is happening with sustainability, new product technology, and precision agriculture. The conference is a great source for growers as well, he added.
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