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Farmer Fertilizer Focus - Potash

By: Josh Linville, Vice President- Fertilizer

POTASH
 
Josh Linville
Director - Fertilizer
What everyone wants to know first, what do we think will happen going forward
I'm not in love with current potash values and I'm nervous we are near the top.
As I'll talk about below, potash has experience the biggest flat price gain and the biggest percentage gain of the last 12 months.  That on its own is a big deal.  The fact that it is potash, a product know to be slow and cumbersome with its price movement, makes it worse.
Demand will have the last say and we will learn more about that in the coming months.  For now, we are patiently (maybe not that patiently) waiting to see how the fall shapes up.
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What has happened in the last 30 days?
Prices continue to churn higher

It doesn't seem to matter if the news on potash is bullish or bearish, at the end of the day prices have been bullish straight thru.  There have been 2 or 3 moments when the information appeared to be solidly bearish and we expected prices to fall back.  To our surprise, at best prices remained flat and at worst they continued higher.  

Eventually, the rally has to stop but it has us wondering when that will be.

As a result of prices continuing higher, NOLA barges are now $360 higher than 12 months earlier

This isn't really something that happened in the last 30 days but I found it interesting.  In the last 12 months, NOLA potash barge values have climbed around $360.  That means on average, potash prices have moved $1 higher per day.  For those that track potash, you know that potash prices take a long time to move higher or lower.  This price gain is unprecedented by recent year history.

Belarusian sanction rumors captivated the market and ended up a non-event

Even though it became a non event, it is still worth watching.  Just recently, the head of a group that helped Belarusians escape the country  was found hanged in a tree.  It was set up to look like a suicide but police are investigating it as a murder.  One of Belarus's Olympians are begging for asylum as she fears for her safety/life if sent back to Belarus.  While things may have calmed, sometimes all it takes is a spark to reignite the fire.  That country accounts for 15% of world operating capacity and could severely disrupt the potash market if cut off from the world.

Concerns are growing for demand
OK, maybe this is more of my concerns are growing for demand.  Fundamentally, this should be a really big fall.  There are some really good crops out there that soaked up the potash from the soil.  We continue to expect big demand from the 2022 crop mix.
Then why am I so nervous?  Sticker shock is the biggest issue for me.  With prices up as much as they are, I'm afraid that you the farmer will change your approach.  If you reduce or delay your application, that means inventories will be higher going into winter.  That puts more pressure on producers who are trying to find homes to fill thru the winter months.
Where are current values in relation to the past
For potash, we use NOLA/New Orleans Louisiana as our base point as it is the easiest spot to track.
  • Vs 30 days ago - +11% or approximately $54 higher
  • Vs 90 days ago - +69% or approximately $225 higher
  • Vs 6 months ago - +102% or approximately $278 higher
  • Vs 1 year ago - +182% or approximately $355 higher
Bull/Bear Factors
Because no market is ever guaranteed to go higher/lower, we try to consider the factors that can sway values so that we are able to act when they occur rather than react.
Bullish Factors
  • Production has been slow to respond to the demand turnaround during Q4 '20 – I'm not going to say this was on purpose or not.  In the end, it doesn't matter.  Production has been slow to respond to the demand we have seen since last fall and it has never truly caught up.  Inventories remain tight.
  • Production is controlled by relative few – I do not make this statement alluding to my thinking there is collusion.  In fact, I think potash producers go out of their way to make sure they do not.  However, when 80% of the world potash operating capacity is owned by 4 regions around the world, it makes for a much smaller chance that one will break ranks.
  • Demand for '22 preparations continues to be expected high – if we are directionally correct on our 91M acres of corn estimate for 2022, that will mean big demand this fall and spring.  Big demand + no changes in supplies = higher prices.
Bearish Factors
  • Currently the worst ratio vs corn as well as the biggest flat price/percentage gain in the last 12 months – if I had said a year ago that potash would see the biggest price gain in the next year, most people would have laughed at me.  Potash is not knows to have sharp, drastic price moves.  Yet here we are.  This could lead to sizeable sticker shock that may have a big effect on demand.
  • High prices could easily shock demand – I mentioned this already but it is worth saying again.  A lot of farmers only look at their fertilizer prices a few times a year.  They are in for a big surprise when they see potash.  Keeping emotion out of their decision making may not be in the cards.
  • Producers have the ability to swamp the globe with supplies if they break ranks – just because world producers have played nice to balance the global S&D does not mean they always will.  When prices are this high, the chances that one steps out of line gets bigger.  If it happens, the next one might do the same and then the dominos start to fall.
ARE WE BETTER OR WORSE OFF THAN WHERE WE WERE?
We believe that only looking at the flat price of either grains or fertilizer can be misleading:
  • Only selling grain can hurt you if fertilizer prices rise substantially;
  • Only buying fertilizer can hurt you if grain prices fall.
We look at the ratio "value" to get a better indication of where we are or how many bushels of X does it take to pay for 1 ton of fertilizer.
Would you rather:
  • Spend 110 bushels to pay for 1 ton of potash
  • Spend 50 bushels to pay for 1 ton of potash
When we compare the current ratio value against recent years, we start to see if we are high or low.
YOUR VALUES WILL LOOK DIFFERENT
This graph looks at the NOLA potash price vs the flat grain price. There are no logistics on either product. Your location will look different due to fertilizer logistical costs, grain basis, etc.
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Josh Linville’s Thoughts
  • Very similar to my phosphate thoughts, we need to try and separate our emotion when making our decision on what to do with potash.  That is a heck of a lot easier said than done.  I fully understand that but emotion can lead you astray much worse than anything else out there.
  • Consider the full picture.  If you decide to cut your potash application rate, is that going to cost you bushels?  If it does cost you bushels, will you lose more bushels than you would have spent with normal app rates?  This answer will vary depending on your ground, your region, what your past app rates have been, your yields this fall, etc.  There is no right answer for everyone.
  • If you decide to wait until spring (if you are a fall person), consider the ramifications (if there are any).  Is my supplier ready for a spring only approach?  Can I get everything done before it is time to plant in the spring?  Again, there is no right answer.  Just make sure if you stray from normal, loop in your supplier so they can do their best to be prepared as well.
  • Use today as a learning opportunity.  12 months ago, it took approximately 50 bushels of corn to pay for 1 ton of potash and the price of corn at that time was not good.  Now, corn prices are up but it  is costing 110 bushels for that same ton of potash.  Which is the better option?
 
 
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