By Larry Kusch FARMERS hoping to avoid last spring's sky-high fertilizer prices have been buying more anhydrous ammonia than usual this fall, leading to shortages at the retail level.
And that's leaving some producers angry.
"I don't think you can buy a pound of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer anywhere in the province," a frustrated Ed Rempel said Monday from his Starbuck grain farm after running out of the stuff Friday and failing to find any product in his area.
"This is like Third World agriculture. It's ridiculous," Rempel said, who was rushing to finish applying the fertilizer to his fields while the weather held up.
His dealer finally got him some more product on Tuesday afternoon.
Jean-Marc Ruest, an assistant vice-president with James Richardson International, which owns Pioneer Grain, said his company has been "having some challenges" keeping enough supply of anhydrous ammonia, a popular form of nitrogen fertilizer.
Short supply
What is anhydrous ammonia? Anhydrous ammonia is a popular form of nitrogen fertilizer. Applied in fall, it's still very effective the next spring.
Why is it in short supply? Farmers, buoyed by high grain and oilseed prices and afraid fertilizer costs will rise dramatically by spring, have increased purchases this fall. Manufacturers, in general, have been hard-pressed to keep up with demand for nitrogen fertilizer, which has been fuelled in part by the booming ethanol industry.
How much does anhydrous ammonia cost? Last fall, Manitoba farmers were paying $450 a tonne. Last spring, the cost soared to as much as $1,000. Currently, it's about $670 to $700 a tonne, if you can get it. With good prices for grains and oilseeds, farmers have had more money to apply fertilizer this fall, and the weather has co-operated, Ruest said.
Many farmers may also be trying to avoid high springtime prices, which occurred this year when anhydrous ammonia reached $1,000 a tonne, double what they were last fall.
David MacKay, executive director of the Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers, estimates that demand for nitrogen fertilizer this fall has gone up 20 per cent as farmers seek to maximize yields in times of high grain prices.
Supplies have been especially tight for anhydrous ammonia, which is the most affordable form of nitrogen, he said.
Manufacturers had no difficulty meeting pre-purchase contracts, MacKay said, but higher-than-anticipated demand on the open market has led to tight supplies.
A spokeswoman for Koch Industries Inc., which owns the former Simplot fertilizer plant near Brandon, said the company has been able to meet its "contractual obligations" with customers, but confirmed that anhydrous ammonia supplies have been tight.
"Low North American inventories coming out of a strong spring season coupled with plant turnarounds (shutdowns for maintenance) and production issues at other plants in North America have stressed supplies," said Melissa Cohlmia by e-mail from the company's offices in Wichita, Kan.
This past spring, when fertilizer prices were hitting new highs, industry officials said the booming corn-based U.S. ethanol industry was creating a huge demand for nitrogen fertilizer. Countries such as China, Brazil and India have also increased their fertilizer use.
While Canada is a net exporter of fertilizer, it doesn't mean Prairie farmers are guaranteed supplies, manufacturers say.
