Acting when the price is right
In the absence of age and wisdom we have youth and eagerness this month.
Yes, he’s on holiday again so it’s someone else's turn to dispense pearls of wisdom, this time on fertiliser and feed.
At time of writing we have seen an increase of nearly £90 a tonne in British nitrogen since new season prices were released compared to January delivery. This has been due to numerous global factors, the main one being availability of European nitrogen and that British product can be sold for more on the continent than it can domestically.
Couple this with urea following a similar upward trend and the market factors suggest increases until something dramatic happens globally to increase global demand. The availability of high sulphur grades may well be the next concern, so if you have not yet covered sulphur the advice would be to look at this sooner rather than later.
It is also the time of year farmers start to think about Ps and Ks. With advances in technology more and more people are using straights as opposed to blends meaning we can target specific nutrients in specific fields. It also gives rise to the opportunity to become a bit cannier with our buying policy and buying specific grades when the price looks right, as many already do with nitrogen.
Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) is around £400/tonne on farm currently and Muriate of Potash (MOP) around £275/tonne, both have been far higher than this in the past and a sceptic would note the price of grain was similar between then and now.
A quick word on feed prices – up. Winter prices are up on last year and if you have held your nerve on the winter you may see it pay off, especially if you are buying in straights.
What is going to happen further forward is very difficult to tell, I have tried not to mention it but Brexit and the uncertainty it brings introduces a complete unknown to the trade. Trade wars between China and America cannot be ignored either and what happens in the upcoming midterm elections in America could play a part.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to phone the office on 01743 884717 and we will be able to get values on feed and fertiliser products.
Edward Roberts, G.O Davies (Westbury) Ltd
