Scottish farmers have seen their nitrogen fertilizer price rocket by £80 since last summer to £245/t for AN. Global nitrogen demand appears to have currently outstripped supply causing prices to rise. Price rises in spring are nothing new but this year the spike is higher and steeper.

The fall in supply has been blamed on China producing less urea, the compound which makes up half the world’s nitrogen use. China makes its urea from coal which has been steadily rising in price resulting in money losing factories being mothballed. Furthermore some European fertilizer companies could be looking to recoup losses from 2016 when the prices fell to lows not seen for many years during the summer months.

The UK also has the issue of a weak currency, making fertiliser imports more expensive.

It is important that with costs so high farmers make best use of inputs. Nitrogen can be seen as a quick fix which ignores underlying soil issues like pH, Phosphorous (P) or Potassium (K). Some high-tech farmers are even using variable rate nitrogen application. Rising nitrogen prices mean it is a good time to consider all soil management options