Boston — The question of whether fertilizer prices are too high and should be investigated (GM March 4, p. 14) never made it to the floor for full discussion at the National Farmers Union (NFU) convention in Boston March 2-5, even though rumbles from several member organizations, including the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, indicated beforehand that the topic was almost a sure thing. “I think we’ve done about all we can on this issue,” said Mick McAllister with the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, where the fertilizer price issue arose several weeks ago. “We’ll have to wait and see if the Justice Department chooses to do anything. People defending the high price of fertilizer relative to ammonia say the price is demand-driven, and if it’s high, farmers will just have to pay more for fertilizer. But I hope people understand that means we all are going to pay more for food.” Chandler Goule, NFU vice president of government relations, insisted the fertilizer price question hasn’t been put to rest. “Many of the farmers’ union state presidents have adopted policies on the state level to look into this egregious problem,” Goule said. “It was anticipated by some that a resolution would be brought up on the floor asking for an investigation, but it was not. However, NFU and the states will stay engaged as this continues to unfold and natural gas prices remain low, and there is no change in fertilizer heading into the planting season.”
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain