Help pricing fertilizer please

[Gwiz]

I called the local COOP, and asked the ton price for N,P, K. The prices they gave me were actually the price of Nitrate, Dap, and Potash. Is that normal, or should I be able to get a price of "actual" Nitrogen I will be buying?

I was estimating my cost based on actual nitrogen, (maybe I was wrong, but she never said she was pricing Nitrate). When they billed me based on the price of Nitrate 34-0-0, I end up paying for 66% useless bulk that I hadn't counted on. Is this my ignorance, or did she mislead me? Do you guys get prices for "actual" nitrogen and "actual" phosphorus?

James

 

[phillip d]

34-0-0 in these parts is amonium nitrate,all white.Some areas price nitorgen as urea,amonium nitrate can aparently be used to manufacture explosives so that's what they are selling instead.Guess I never asked for 100-0-0 before,I do know that 34-0-0 here is priced around 750 bucks a tonne,so that's a ton plus a couple of hundred pounds extra.

 

[Anonymous-0]

46-0-0 is the highest n you can get as far as i know in normal dry fert.last year,phosphorus was highest ive ever seen it.ive not checked this year,but if I heard right my bro in law paid $185 ton for 46-0-0 a couple of weeks ago,here in central okla.

 

[phillip d]

wish we could get it for that here grrrrrrrr lol

 

[Gwiz]

You are not understanding what I'm asking. If you get a price for actual nitrogen, you can price the mix no matter what it is.
For example, 2000 lbs of Nitrate has 34% nitrogen. If she said nitrogen is $326 per ton, and there is 680 lbs of nitrogen in a ton of Nitrate, then 2000 lbs of Nitrate would cost $110 (2000*.34*$326). On the other hand, if Nitrate is $326 per ton, actual nitrogen is $958 per ton. (2000/680*$326)
James

 

[Anonymous-0]

youre wrong fertelizer is not sold by the actual pounds of (N) or(P) or (K) but by the actual weight of the material. for example 100 lbs of 34-0-0 has only 34 lbs of (N), but is sold as a 100 lbs you have to figuire that out and buy accordingly.

 

[kyhayman]

I've never gotten the price for actual N from the dealer unless I asked them to figure it from the price of the material. Its always quoted to me as price of urea or ammonium nitrate. Typically actual N is cheaper in urea than anything except anhydrous. This year I had her compare urea to ammonium nitrate and the actual N price was about 4 cents per pound less to use urea.

 

[Don Pine]

James,

They're not selling you "actual" N, P, or K. They're selling you fertilizer. You are expected to do the analysis (as you did in your example). You won't find prices listed for "actual" anything.

Pure nitrogen is a gas. You'd have a fun time trying to spread gas over your soil. That "useless bulk" is the carrier needed to deliver the nutrient into the soil.

So to answer your question; you buy fertilizer. You are expected to know you need 294 lbs of 34-0-0 to get 100 lbs of actual N.

 

[randallinMo]

Gwiz, Don Pine did a good job of explaining this. I don't think the lady misled you. "Pricing" fertilizer is done differently in different locals. The fertilizer industry is highly regulated by most state department of agricultures. Once you know the "basics" of fertilizers, the pricing system will make sense to you.

 

[jack harmon]

It really pays to call around ,especially this year,lots of places have left over fertilizer and are not dropping price until its sold.at least that's what they've been telling folks!

 

[phillip d]

It's standard to pay through the nose here in Eastern Canada,called suppliers within 1000 miles from here that are willing to deliver a trailer load of half ton bags.