Fertilizer has nearly quadrupled in price - fireworks more expensive now

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Suck My Glock
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Fertilizer has nearly quadrupled in price - fireworks more expensive now

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Post by Suck My Glock »

For those of you that make your own fireworks and rocket propellants - Russia is the single largest producer of fertilizer.

Sooooooo,...with the sanctions and all,...stuff like Ammonium Nitrate and such has gone through the roof.

Talked with a farmer friend of mine this past Sunday. He is retired but rents out his 1000 acres for others to farm. The fertilizer of choice here is anhydrous ammonia. One year ago it cost $400 a ton and typically 200 pounds per acre is used. So $400 will cover 10 acres for most farmers. Last fall the price had jumped to $700 a ton. The fertilizer can be sprayed either in the fall after the harvest is done or in the spring before planting. I have no idea what percent of farmers balked at the fall price and opted to wait until spring. Well, those that took the risk and waited are not happy. Price per ton has jumped to $1500. Nearly 4x from a year ago.

My farmer friend said there are three options for most farmers:
1) Use less fertilizer - this will impact yields
2) Use no fertilizer - this will impact yields
3) Don't plant a crop - this will impact yields

The option of just swallowing the cost and passing it on to the end user is not available to most. When farmers harvest their crop they sell to a co-op or private grain company for whatever the price of the grain is at the time. Farmers can't 'name their price'. Yes some have opportunities to lock in prices or forward contracts but I'm keeping it simple.

Bottom line, yields are going to be severely impacted with these skyrocketing fertilizer prices. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to head out and pick up more flour and corn meal...


4th of July is gonna be more expensive this year for sure.


Now I hear some of you saying that most fireworks are perchlorate-based and not ammonium. Well, how else was I gonna talk about the big boom-booms without more legitimate mainstream commercial poppers? (Wink, wink.)


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