| Oklahoma -- Skyrocketing natural gas prices are expected to
hit farmers this spring where it hurts the most -- in their fields and
pocketbooks.
Farmers will likely pay up to one-third more to fertilize spring crops
because the high cost of natural gas has forced several fertilizer plants
to curb production or shut down temporarily.
"The analysts that I've followed don't anticipate it getting any
cheaper," said Kim Anderson, an Oklahoma State University professor
of agricultural economics. "However, prices tend to move in
cycles."
Fertilizer manufacturers are passing the high cost of gas on to their
customers, said Sheryl Callison of Agri-Nutrients, Inc.
Fertilizer prices have "gone through the roof," she said. The
price of nitrogen fertilizer has risen about $30 a ton over the last two
weeks.
Terra Nitrogen, a Sioux City, Iowa, company which operates a nitrogen
fertilizer plant at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, has been running at half
capacity since Dec. 1. The plant will continue at half capacity through
January because of the high cost of natural gas used in making fertilizer,
officials said.
The high natural gas prices are preventing Terra from generating
positive cash flow at most of its plants in North America, said Michael
Bennett, Terra's chief operating officer. |