U.S. Positioned to Produce Enough Nitrogen Fertilizer for Farmers and Export

The Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation at USDA says increased access to natural gas will help domestic fertilizer production grow. Richard Fordyce says new fracking technologies are paying dividends.

“We are now a net exporter of natural gas. Well natural gas is the key feedstock ingredient to make nitrogen fertilizer.” He says the goal is to produce enough domestic nitrogen to meet the needs of U.S. farmers and export any additional supplies.

“That’s where we’re headed and there’s some short-term things we can do, some intermediate-term things we can do, and then certainly the long-term view.”

Fordyce says he’s encouraged by recent announcements by CF Industries and CHS to build fertilizer plants in Louisiana.

EDITOR’S TAKE:

Reducing dependence on foreign suppliers is a laudable goal, especially as it relates to nitrogen fertilizer. For far too long we have failed to increase production capacity and, instead, purchased our fertilizer from foreign sources. If we can reverse these trends, it would be a long-term gain for U.S. agriculture. Fertilizer cost is one of the primary ingredients to a successful crop year and farmers have been faced with rising costs and uncertain availability for the past several years. Domestic supply is the answer!

In the meantime, maintain your focus on programs like AgPack® to provide significant rebates and discounts on products farmers/ranchers use in their operations. Your AgPack partners are working hard to provide meaningful ROI to farmers/ranchers who purchase trucks from you.