‘Another blow’: Manitoba farmers facing increased fertilizer costs amidst war in Iran

CTV’s Joseph Bernacki has more on how the war in Iran is impacting the cost of fertilizer and fuel for farmers.

Anola farmer Andrew James said he and his brother are lucky they bought enough fertilizer to last this year’s growing season. In a short period of time, prices have skyrocketed due to the war in Iran.

“My fertilizer bill for that was around $350,000,” James said on Tuesday.

“If I would try and lock that in today, it would be $140,000 higher.”

James and his brother farm 3,000 acres of grain in Anola and help their dad farm another 3,000 acres just inside the perimeter.

He said last year when he purchased urea, a solid nitrogen-based fertilizer, the price was $750 a tonne. Now he says that price has risen to $1,150. James said if he hadn’t listened to an advisor, his fertilizer bill would have cost him nearly half a million dollars.

“I locked 100 per cent of my needs up,” he said.

“$140,000 extra would not make for a very fun year. You’d really be looking for opportunities to sell grain that can make you a profit when you buy these high-priced urea tons.”

Kevin Peters runs a pork and grain farm west of Steinbach.

Peters said the war has cut off the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for the type of fertilizer farmers need. He said he also locked in early, but prices could balloon by the end of the season.

“It is another blow, obviously,” he said.

“For a lot of us, we pre-purchased fertilizer. We already have it in the bin. The prices won’t necessarily get down come fall again.”

“If this drags out further, then it’s going to have bigger impacts on availabilities, you know, capacity for farmers to get that fertilizer on this spring,” said Jill Verwey, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers.

Verwey said she hopes the conflict will have a quick resolution, saying prairie growers are already facing challenges.

“We’re at the mercy of what’s happening globally,” she said.

As James points out, the war has driven up gas costs, which could cost him an extra $40,000.

He said for those who didn’t buy early, it may be time to look at what you’re planting in the ground.

“If I can’t get a return on investment from urea, I’m changing crops that would grow and that would use less nitrogen.”

In a statement to CTV News, Derek Brewin, professor of agribusiness and agricultural economics from the University of Manitoba, said, the increased prices of urea could increase the losses on wheat crops by around $15/acre.

“This may be a good year for soybean area as it can fix its own nitrogen and has also seen a price increase since January and is currently earning around the same income per acre as canola for the average farm,” he said.