NH3 Gouging by Canadian Company's

[northfarmer]

glyphosate prices, low end or wherever are going up, based on elasticity of demand....get yours now for the whole season..we filled the shed already to make sure....higher prices will curb demand to balance the equation....and before you start the conspiracy theory rant the same economic principle is what will bring about the rebound in our commodities that we sell...ala feed and peas and others

thanks SKfmr for keeping the heat on the topic...wd9...YOU ARE RIGHT THE BUYING GOES ONE AT THESE HIGH PRICES....but what percentage of volume will be done at these high margins....

we are not effectively arbritraging the price across the border, ours and the US and the continent and the rest of the world when it comes to nitrogen.and other ferts...all most all global new production of nitrogen in the last many years have been offshore....reason is cheap energy both gas and power...and that will not change.....

as buyers we must look forward for solutions...we must plan six to eight months ahead to secure off shore urea to arbritrage this market...we need to have on farm storage and even blending capability...trackside where feasible....

we need to be able to get fert inland to Canada without using the mississipi and new orleans ports...no fert comes from the west coast that I know of....this has all changed with the bursted gas bubble and higher electricity cost....

if they are planning or building LNG(liquid nat gas) unload facilties on our west and east coasts that should tell you something...and as others have suggested, and we are doing on our farm, we have increased our pulse acres, feed more cows on forage/grass and are using our cows to spread the fert around....certainly not the total solution for the large landbase of our farm operates on and i still search other solutions

we should complain to our politicians, but complaning without a strategy for the solution will lead us no where...my thought is this ....the basic transportation infrastructure for western Canada is rail and highway for the movement of bulk commodities...improvements of this to bring about more competitive and cost efficient two way movement of commodities is a public good and the govts should have a role in development of policy for this.....an example of this is the value the US govt brought to the plains of the Midwest and the key industrial and ag regions with the dredging and subsequent development of the Mississipi river....the Army crop of engineers was involved I believe....

there was an intersting story in the seducer about hoppered containers...this may hold promise for both crops and fert to be moved....we have brand new container port being built in Rupert...the best deep sea port on the west coast...and my question will the high speed intermodal trains even stop on the Prairies before they hit Chicago?

too much rain....too much time to think...good luck all!

[nicolaas]

Free enterprise in the farming inputs industry? One of the above posters has it right wrgs to PMRA and their crop life chem. lobby group teaming up to end own use for chemicals. I can see the reason for higher fertilizer prices if there actually is a shortage, but the chemical side is blatent government sanctioned manipulation. There are many generic herbicides (especially ones for wild oats) that are used in the states, and will not be allowed into Canada for years to come if this goes through. Just to put it in perspective... You can buy generic medication/drugs from your drug store after the patent has expired, why should farm chemicals be any different? Is PMRA not doing their job? Thats big bucks out of your pocket. This is a serious threat to the long term profitibiliy to farming. Call & write your M.P. and MLA - I did.

[Jay-mo]

So was anyone here affected last week when a "phonecall" was made to Transport Canada shutting down farmers along the US border who where bringing nh3 across with US tanks which where not TC certified?
I find this pretty outrageous when a guy is able to save in some cases $200/tonne on his nh3 and then the local nh3 supplier doesnt like it and makes a call and shuts the border on a technicality.

[wd9]

There is, but what is the technicality? Is there a reg preventing it and if so what is it and under which agency?

Nicolaas, you should start another thread on the Ppip issue as it warrants a discussion of its own for sure.

[Jay-mo]

The technicality has nothing to do with the nh3 itself but with the US tank/wagons which are certified by the D.O.T. in the US but not by Transport Canada.

[SASKFARMER3]

Again were held hostage in our own country.
Montana latest quote 552 cash. or $672 CANADIAN or .37 cents a lb.

[wedino]

Could it be that the US tanks are rated for 250 PSI whereas ours need to be rated for 265 PSI?(in Sask, not sure of other provinces)

I wonder if the higher prices we pay for NH3 are due to the stringent regulations we must adhere to. ie. tanks tested every 5 years, etc.

[SASKFARMER3]

I pay to have my tank inspected and checked every five years etc.
Its simply highway robbery and were letting it happen.

[cropduster]

Sksfrmr...actually found a Alberta trucking Co. that delivers gas Stateside from Coutts.Will be researching this week.Wondering ,if I had a bigger bottle could I take the hits here??.....Even with recreational trucking sounds like we could buy our gas back cheaper!!!!!Happy seeding!!

[wedino]

My dealer checks my tanks every year, places new sticker on them, no charge to me. His delivery trailer had to go to Winnipeg for its 5 year test this spring. I don't know how they test his storage bullet, but am sure I'm paying my share for all this testing.