Fertiliser Focus – 9th December 2019

Nitrogen

U.K producers finally succumbed to the pressure and reduced Ammonium Nitrate and Nitrogen Sulphur products recently by around £3 to £8 per tonne depending on the grade. Successive weeks of low sales and probably higher stock levels than they would be comfortable with had made this move inevitable. The drop is mainly to incentivise delivery in December, it will be interesting to see what the policy is in January if the current market conditions prevail. Urea prices remain largely unchanged.

Di-Ammonium Phosphate

Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) has the analysis of 18N  46P  0K could prove to be a very useful product indeed this coming spring. DAP can be considered as a true granular compound as all the nutrients are contained within the same granule. Phosphate is associated with energy transfer, germination, and root growth. With more spring cropping on the cards, DAP could form a very useful part of next springs’ Nitrogen programme. Phosphate is not very mobile in the soil, so a fresh supply to get crops off to a good start could be important. As one of the most concentrated fertilisers available DAP also represents fantastic value for money. When taking the cost of the Phosphate into account the Nitrogen in DAP can reflect A.N equivalent-values of just under £80 per tonne. Tailor-made blends can be made up to specific requirements including Potash and Sulphur if required.       

Finishing off was Keith Goulding from Rothamstead Research continuing the theme of nitrogen use efficiency Keith spoke about recognising it’s not solely about how much N we apply, it’s about the surplus and avoiding waste. To achieve this, being realistic about yield potential, using a recognised system for recommendations and not to forget the 4Rs of nitrogen management: Right Place, Right Rate, Right Source, Right Time.  

World Soil Day

December 5^th was declared World Soil Day by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It’s campaign to ‘Stop soil erosion’ is envisaged to ‘raise awareness on the importance of sustaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being’ by addressing the increasing challenges in soil management and raise the profile of healthy soil. Governments, organisations, communities and individuals will be encouraged to engage proactively in improving soil health. For more details go to: –

http://www.fao.org/world-soil-day/en/

Polyhalite

As we have reported regularly here, there is a fascinating race to establish the mineral Polyhalite as a leading fertiliser in the UK and globally. Currently the mineral is being extracted by ICL at its’ Boulby mine in Cleveland, marketed as Polysulphate 48SO3 14K 6MgO 17CaO. The company announced it had processed 75,000 tonnes in November and was targeting 1M tonnes in 2020, and up to 3M tonnes by 2030. Sirius Minerals which is developing its’ own Polyhalite mine near Whitby, slated for first production in 2021 and fully by 2024 recently announced that tunnel boring was progressing faster than anticipated. Its best daily rate of 40.5 m was achieved on 26^th November. The machine is boring a 23-mile tunnel from the mine to a processing site at Teesside. Sirius is beginning a six-month review amid problems funding the project.