DTN Retail Fertilizer Trends

OMAHA (DTN) -- For the second consecutive week, urea, UAN28 and UAN32 led the way higher for retail fertilizer prices tracked by DTN for the first week of May.

All eight major fertilizers were higher compared to last month. DTN designates a significant move as anything 5% or more.

UAN32 had the most significant price increase. The liquid nitrogen fertilizer was 10% higher compared to last month, with an average price of $484 per ton.

Both urea and UAN28 were 9% more expensive from a month ago. Urea had an average price of $621/ton, while UAN28 was at $406/ton.

Urea was more than $600/ton for the first time since the second week of July 2023, when the price was $609/ton. UAN28 was over $400/ton for the first time since the third week of June 2023, when the price was $402/ton.

The remaining five fertilizers had slightly higher prices. DAP had an average price of $787/ton, MAP $825/ton, potash $473/ton, 10-34-0 $665/ton and anhydrous $783/ton.

On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was $0.68/lb.N, anhydrous $0.48/lb.N, UAN28 $0.73/lb.N and UAN32 $0.76/lb.N.

In a post titled "Are you overspending on fertilizer?" from the University of Minnesota Extension Minnesota Crop News, extension educator Brad Carlson writes about how farmers spend money for nutrients and how this affects their bottom lines. (See https://blog-crop-news.extension.umn.edu/…) Using the FINBIN database of farm financial data for thousands of Minnesota farms, Carlson examined the fertilizer costs per acre beginning in 2016.

He found the 20% most profitable farms had fertilizer costs that averaged $138 per acre, while the least profitable farms spent $177 per acre. This is a 28% difference.

"I have continued to track the reports annually and the results have been relatively consistent over the years, with the least profitable farms between 2017 and 2022 spending 15-30% more on fertilizer per year than the most profitable farms," Carlson wrote.

Considering many farmers turn their nutrient purchasing decisions over to those who sell them products, it might be time farmers take a closer look into their fertilizer purchasing decisions, he wrote.

Four fertilizers are now higher in price compared to a year ago: 10-34-0 by 4%, both urea and UAN28 by 12%, and UAN32 by 16%.

The remaining four fertilizers are lower in price: DAP, MAP and anhydrous are lower by 1%, while potash is lower by 8% from a year ago.

DTN gathers fertilizer price bids from agriculture retailers each week to compile the DTN Fertilizer Index. DTN first began reporting data in November 2008.

In addition to national averages, MyDTN subscribers can access the full DTN Fertilizer Index, which includes state averages, here: https://www.mydtn.com/….

The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) released its list of 2025-26 public policy priorities, according to a TFI press release. You can read about it here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Dry
Date Range	DAP	MAP	POTASH	UREA
May 6-10 2024	789	831	511	557
Jun 3-7 2024	781	827	508	535
Jul 1-5 2024	760	821	506	506
Jul 29-Aug 2 2024	744	819	503	504
Aug 26-30 2024	742	814	487	492
Sep 23-27 2024	738	812	457	485
Oct 21-25 2024	740	808	452	500
Nov 18-22 2024	740	811	443	498
Dec 16-20 2024	738	810	442	488
Jan 13-17 2025	739	809	443	492
Feb 10-14 2025	754	809	442	536
Mar 10-14 2025	765	810	447	548
Apr 7-11 2025	777	822	467	572
May 9-9 2025	787	825	473	621
Liquid
Date Range	10-34-0	ANHYD	UAN28	UAN32
May 6-10 2024	642	792	364	418
Jun 3-7 2024	642	757	353	406
Jul 1-5 2024	642	705	345	389
Jul 29-Aug 2 2024	640	676	338	376
Aug 26-30 2024	639	676	328	364
Sep 23-27 2024	593	684	320	351
Oct 21-25 2024	604	705	316	363
Nov 18-22 2024	611	718	323	364
Dec 16-20 2024	613	721	320	363
Jan 13-17 2025	616	737	326	366
Feb 10-14 2025	638	747	342	393
Mar 10-14 2025	646	751	354	397
Apr 7-11 2025	655	780	373	439
May 9-9 2025	665	783	406	484

Russ Quinn can be reached at Russ.Quinn@dtn.com

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