Artichoke Lover’s 2022 Garden

Artichoke Lover

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flowerbug

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“We urge the federal government to take action to remove these Union Pacific rail shipment restrictions to ensure this vital fertilizer will be able to reach U.S. farmers when and where they need it.”

so the question becomes why is UP restricting shipments? the answer not supplied in the first article is noted in a 2nd (it's also a much more interesting article):


"CF Industries says UP seeks 20% reduction in company's shipments of fertilizer as part of an effort to reduce rail congestion"

STB = Surface Transportation Board

other things to ponder are that in many cases a farmer can use less fertilizer than they do, but they don't want to because ...

other ways of using less fertilizer is to grow other crops that don't need so much to begin with.

checking another source:


"Prices for major fertilizers increased between 8 percent and 13 percent in quarter one, with the biggest spikes coming after Russia invaded Ukraine. While most U.S. ag retailers have adequate nutrient supplies this spring, that may not be the case this fall and in spring 2023. Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus are usually major exporters of nitrogen, phosphate, and potash fertilizers, as well as natural gas, the key feedstock for nitrogen fertilizers. Those supplies will remain threatened by production shutdowns and export restrictions and fertilizer prices will be elevated throughout 2022."

from reading that i'd say that CF is blowing a bit of smoke for the shorter term. perhaps not admitting that they've not stockpiled fertilizers nearer to their customers or planned for disruptions. and that has been a common theme the past few years when Just In Time Production methods haven't stocked enough parts in other industries.
 
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