Canadian farmers store fertilizer to fight dealers' pricing power

**MBgrower** · Feb 27, 2015, 18:30

I hope the greed of agrium et al backfires in their face. Once the majority of farmers have enough on farm storage perhaps we can arrange for delievry from offshore sources and fill up any time of year. Good opportunity for FNA here.

**SASKFARMER3** · Feb 27, 2015, 19:14

700 ton storage for fert adding more every year.

**LEP** · Feb 27, 2015, 22:07

We have 825 mt of a mix of liquid and dry fert storage.

Looked into a 5,000 mt liquid condo facility once. Chickened out.

I could have paid for it twice if I had built when I was going to.

**Oliver88** · Feb 28, 2015, 08:10

It would be nice to be setup for NH3 storage.
Not sure what red tape a guy would have to deal with?

**SASKFARMER3** · Feb 28, 2015, 08:25

Looked at buying a bullet back in the 80S having it moved to our yard from the town it was in. That was the cheap part then the inspections etc and every so many year inspections. Just became to big of a cost. Also you really don't store that much.

**Hamloc** · Feb 28, 2015, 09:08

Store 2/3 of my fertilizer now hoping to put up more this year bins usually pay for themselves in a year. It is interesting to note the Urea price in New Orleans is now down to 280 a short ton down from over 330 in January which translates to a fair value in western canada of 515 a tonne. The vaseline jar is almost empty!!!!

**LEP** · Feb 28, 2015, 09:15

Any attempt to make the market efficient requires infrastructure investment.

Fert storage is a start.

Fert storage on rail is better.

Fert storage and buying offshore is better again.

Not all that different from grain.

**wmoebis** · Feb 28, 2015, 09:26

Help me understand.
Why don't farmers sign contracts with fert companies for agreed price for delivery on an agreed month then the fert company store it until you are ready to pick it up?

Just like the grain system does.
Why do we have to supply bins for the fert Co's and the grain Co's and be their bankers too?

**bucket** · Feb 28, 2015, 10:05

Because farmers like having bins. It's like a gold star in elementary school.

Most were conditioned way back when and haven't shed that mindset yet.

4 farmers put up bins equalling the equivalent of a 10000 tonne elevator.

Beautiful but no closer to a transportation system. And they bought semis to compare as well.

I am not jealous, but I can't believe guys this smart wouldn't invest collectively to avoid the current system. They would be wealthier in the long run.

Canadian farmers store fertilizer to fight dealers' pricing power