Source:  FARM DOC DAILY, UNIV. OF ILLINOIS, 8/3/21


Fertilizer prices have increased dramatically over the past year, with prices on major fertilizer products in Illinois increasing by over 50%. High fertilizer prices lead to projections of near record-high fertilizer costs in 2022 for both corn and soybeans, though short of the all-time high levels set in 2008.
USDA Index Values from 1990 to 2021

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regularly calculates index values of prices paid for fertilizers. Figure 1 shows those indices for:
1. fertilizers – mixed, hereafter referred to as mixed fertilizers. The mixed fertilizer index is for fertilizers including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash.
2. nitrogen fertilizers. Nitrogen fertilizers primarily are used to supply nitrogen, including anhydrous ammonia, 28% and 32% nitrogen solutions, and urea.

Since the beginning of reporting in 1990, indices exhibited variability, as one would expect with commodities. Both indices began in 1990 with values in the high 20s and then exhibited upward trends through the mid-2000s. From 1990 to 2005, however, several periods of higher prices followed by declines do exist, with more than 10% decline happening in early-2001 and again in 2006 (see Figure 1).

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