Fertilizer prices trend upward, often outpacing recent growth in crop prices

Fertilizer prices paid by farmers outpaced the increase in crop prices received by farmers from 2004 to 2008, driven largely by high energy prices and input material costs. In response to record fertilizer prices in 2008, farmers reduced fertilizer consumption, which contributed to a large decline in fertilizer prices in 2010. Since then, fertilizer prices have started to climb once again, driven mainly by strong domestic demand for plant nutrients resulting from high crop prices despite a steady decline in nitrogen fertilizer input (natural gas) costs. This chart is based on the data in table 8 of the ERS data product, Fertilizer Use and Price, updated May 4, 2012.

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