Fertiliser Price Tracker

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
I’ve just ordered a truckload of Bela Alan 27%N 9%S @ £634/ton. February delivery.
Couldn’t risk waiting any longer, in case Russia invades Ukraine, which is a very real and somewhat imminent risk.

Am aiming to cut down by 15% on last year, when I also cut down by 20% from a ten year average. This will mean less output from the farm, but nothing like that much, dependent mostly on the weather.

That’s £17900 +VAT for one truck load of 28.2 tons. Payment split into three monthlies at no extra charge. They offered six months for £3/ton extra but during that six months I will need another two truck loads. So budgeting to pay over six months would seem like financial suicide to me. As it is, a second load will need paying in June.
this is the year to see how much fert we actually need, to what we think we need !
we all might be pleasantly surprised. Going forward, if fert is going to be substantially dearer, we will have to learn how to use it more effectively, or product price is going to have to rise substantially, to cover all the rising input costs.

Energy prices are going to seriously hurt an awful lot of people, you are looking at at least a doubling of domestic costs, food inflation is already causing concern, and all you hear, is the guv has to do 'something'. They have put the country into serious debt, to try and keep the economy going through covid, and succeeded, we are forecast to be one of the fasted growing economies, in the world, and that is good. But simply put, they cannot afford to subsidise energy, and/or food, and food isn't taxed. Without further borrowing, which may, or may not, be possible, what other option's are there ? They will probably do something to help the poorest, and pensioners, but l rather think those in-between, will have to pay, however unwelcome.

And of course, the world is not in 'harmony', with some very real hot spots, close to home, and all we can do is hope that common sense prevails. But, if it doesn't, defence spending will have to rise. Then there will be massive interruption of the trade routes, with all that will apply.
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
I’ve always used fertiliser and all other inputs at the highest efficiency possible. They are costs that have to balance with the value of output. Any that is not productively used comes directly out of my pocket and all the rubbish about farmers needing to be more ‘efficient’ grates and offends me.
If the fertiliser I don’t use this year results in less grass output it will directly result in less milk output from my farm, because it is unlikely to be an economic proposition to buy substitutes in to the farm to replace lost forage growth.

The UK Government is actually aiming for decreased UK farm food output anyway, because it plans to rewild large areas and finance companies are already buying large areas of land up in order to plant trees to offset energy and aviation industry carbon emissions. Food production is no longer even on their radar and they believe they will be able to import sufficient cheap food from the countries that they make trade deals with. That’s the only way they will get any trade deals with most countries because that is all they produce that they wish to export to us. If and when it is consistently available to export to us, which the UK has not considered seriously.
Either or which way, they are serious about getting rid of most cows and sheep from these isles. It then follows that wilderness and trees do not require any fertiliser applications whatsoever. Only a much enhanced fire service and the foreign exchange to pay for imports.
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
But we'll end up with a buyers market with all of us undercutting each other.
I think that glamping has already peaked and with the end of the pandemic and travel restrictions, foreign travel will soon once again become favoured and probably cheaper than UK holidays. Assuming that Brexit travel restrictions are themselves not too onerous and irksome to bother with.
 

db9go

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Buckinghamshire
I think that glamping has already peaked and with the end of the pandemic and travel restrictions, foreign travel will soon once again become favoured and probably cheaper than UK holidays. Assuming that Brexit travel restrictions are themselves not too onerous and irksome to bother with.
And provided they still have money to spend now with inflation running at about 25/30%
 

Homesy

Member
Location
North West Devon
I’ve always used fertiliser and all other inputs at the highest efficiency possible. They are costs that have to balance with the value of output. Any that is not productively used comes directly out of my pocket and all the rubbish about farmers needing to be more ‘efficient’ grates and offends me.
If the fertiliser I don’t use this year results in less grass output it will directly result in less milk output from my farm, because it is unlikely to be an economic proposition to buy substitutes in to the farm to replace lost forage growth.

The UK Government is actually aiming for decreased UK farm food output anyway, because it plans to rewild large areas and finance companies are already buying large areas of land up in order to plant trees to offset energy and aviation industry carbon emissions. Food production is no longer even on their radar and they believe they will be able to import sufficient cheap food from the countries that they make trade deals with. That’s the only way they will get any trade deals with most countries because that is all they produce that they wish to export to us. If and when it is consistently available to export to us, which the UK has not considered seriously.
Either or which way, they are serious about getting rid of most cows and sheep from these isles. It then follows that wilderness and trees do not require any fertiliser applications whatsoever. Only a much enhanced fire service and the foreign exchange to pay for imports.
I used to think like that. However, the last 3 years I have cut my fertiliser usage back from 2 units/day/acre to 1.25. I no longer fertilise until after the first round of grazing and nothing after the beginning of July. Admittedly I don't turn out until mid March but I am heavily stocked on my platform at 2 cows/acre until I start drying off at the end of August. So long as we get the rain, I am not short of grass. I have little or no clover in the leys at the moment so hopefully, with that added, I can cut back further.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.9%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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