Agronomy Division

wheat needs (Aug- Sept 30th) and if you need to contract fall product the ship windows are Oct – Dec 2023.

Phosphates – very bullish, we seen wholesale values increase $40 plus in the past 5 days (July 21-25th ) , supply is tight . The Midwest is panic buying to beat the river close in mid-October.

Tim Spector Agronomy Division Manager

With good 2024 wheat values if you want to contract your wheat input needs work with you ABM to secure a position. I anticipate the inputs for the 2024 inputs will be a wild ride, no different than the past 2 years.

Fertilizer Markets

In the past few weeks we’ve seen the grain markets increasing (2023 & 2024) , in addition India announced a new tender for 1 million metric tons of Urea. Furthermore, the Midwest is scrambling to position Urea, Phosphates and Potash for the spring of 2024 to beat the Mississippi River closure in Mid-October. In addition, U.S. New Orleans value of Urea has been trading at $100/Ton discount to international values. The last factor effecting the market is low inventories at domestic production points CF, Koch and Agrium etc. The Bull is running for the Wheat run, anticipate strength across the board on all Nitrogen products (Nh3, Urea and UAN). Work with your local ABM to contract your

Pre Herbicides – in meetings with each of the basic suppliers ( Syngenta, Bayer etc) the common thread they do not foresee any price decreases on their line ( Fultime NXT, Lexar, Lumax , Acuron, Degree Extra, Resicore etc.) Post HerbicidesIn the last half of July we witnessed dramatic price reductions in RT3 to matchup with generic glyphosates of which appears to be a market share game by Bayer. In addition, we saw Syngenta decrease the value of Gramoxone 3.0 to matchup with generic offerings. However, in my opinion based on gleaned information this was not a market share concern move but more so a strategic move to start process of exiting the market of paraquat. One of the big issues is they are reducing bulk shipments and focusing on shuttles of which we are in discussions to resolve an issue by the change. Distribution will gladly ship Paraquat/Gramoxone in shuttles however, they will not take the shuttles back due to the nature of the product. Thus, we are struggling on how to handle shuttles at the farm gate so we don’t have mountains piled up at out facility. Generic suppliers as a norm do not have the specific tanker lease /contracts to meet the demand. Now the other dark cloud for paraquat will occur in Eastern St Louis in mid- October with the first court case( personal injury). There are cases lined up each month following throughout the U.S. according to the CEO of Helm. As a cooperative and as farmers we have to take extra precaution to follow label guidelines to make certain we are stewarding crop protection chemicals properly. If we lose access to Paraquat we will be forced to look at additional investment to conquer Pigweed, Kochia etc. Note: Use caution when choosing a generic platform for HIF needs. In my experience, there are 4 levels of generics and even though a product might have the same percentage AI, what the label does not show is the inert ingredients and that is where the topline separates from the bottoms line. Mixing issues, stability in the tank, crop damage and layers of sludge in the shuttle or jugs. Pride Ag Resources offers top Brand products along with topline generics that are formulate with quality inert ingredients.

Seed – Wheat seed is tight given the numerous acres that were insurance claims due-to the drought prior to April. We have had orders in with suppliers since the first of July awaiting confirmation the seed has good germ as well as available bushels. Price wise with a strong Wheat price it appears the average will run between $25-30.00 per unit. That is not concrete but from a planning point use that value for calculating your crop plan. Contact your ABM if you are ready to secure seed.