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226 comments on DrumBeat: April 9, 2008

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totoneila on April 9, 2008 - 1:32pm Permalink | Subthread | Comments top

Hello TODers,

Welcome to a world of Liebig Minimums?

Warning--slow loading link from India:

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEQ20080409020058&Page=Q&Tit...
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Shortage of fertiliser hits farmers

JEYPORE: Acute shortage of potash fertiliser in the district has hit the farmers hard with the rabi paddy crop turning yellow in most of the tribal pockets.

Taking advantage of the situation, black marketeers in Jeypore are selling the fertiliser at an exhibirant price to desperate farmers under the very nose of Agriculture Department officials.

The farmers have been running from pillar to post to get potash to save their crop but in vain.
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Have you hugged your bag of NPK today?

EDIT: Farmers/gardeners will not be interested in trading grains/produce for big screen TVs or plastic salad shooters--you better have something biosolar mission-critical.

Bob Shaw in Phx,Az Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?

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kjmclark on April 9, 2008 - 4:18pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I'll have to hug a bag of greensand when I get home. Did you see the plug for you at theautomaticearth? Apparently POT is doing quite well.

It's looking more and more like food and credit crises will cover up oil peaking.

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totoneila on April 10, 2008 - 4:04am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Hello Kjmclark,

Thxs for responding. Yep, saw my mention, but I agree with what WT & Simmons say: I would rather be wrong.

High prices are bad enough, but it is outright shortages that worry me because growing plants can't wait; the topsoil needs the NPK applied in a timely fashion to avoid a Liebig and leverage harvest yields.

Another link, this time from Down Under:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/10/2213271.htm
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Reports of a fertiliser shortage for the state's grain farmers are widening, with fears it could damage chances of farmers bouncing back from the drought.

He says this includes reports of some suppliers trying to dishonour contracts.

Let me say it doesn't just stop at fertiliser, we've heard similar things from some sources in relation to chemicals, so it couldn't have happened at a worse time."
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His mention of chemicals I assume to mean pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other products used on the soil or crops.

EDIT: another link on potential monopolistic practices:

http://therural.yourguide.com.au/news/local/general/farmers-attack-ferti...
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Fertiliser suppliers and farmers made the claims of market distortion in submissions to the senate inquiry headed by Junee Senator Bill Heffernan, which is investigating possible cartel behaviour in the fertiliser and chemical industries.

The price of fertiliser products has spiralled in the last year, with the majority going up by 100 to 200 per cent and some products rising as much as 400 per cent.

“The association often receives comments from members questioning how there can be fertiliser stock piled in sheds or on ships waiting to be unloaded yet the retailers do not have any available for sale or they cannot inform the customer of when it will be available or at what price,” the association’s submission stated.

The association also raised speculation over possible monopolistic behaviour from the dominant company Incitec Pivot, which controls more than 50 per cent of Australia’s agricultural plant nutrient needs....
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Bob Shaw in Phx,Az Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?

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226 comments on DrumBeat: April 9, 2008

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