Surge in fertiliser prices adds to pressure on UK farmers

theguardian.com:

British food producers are facing surging prices for fertiliser, animal feed and CO2, which is used in packaging and the slaughter of livestock, as war in Ukraine disrupts exports from Russia and ramps up production costs.

Fertiliser prices are surging towards £1,000 a tonne, up from about £650 last week, linked to a surge in the price of gas – key to the production process – and panic-buying by farmers fearing the price will rise further in the coming weeks. The NFU said prices for nitrogen fertiliser were already up 200% year on year.

Farmers said they were likely to offset the price rises by buying less fertiliser than usual this season for cereal crops, potentially leading to lower production at a time when there is a threat to supplies from Ukraine, in peacetime responsible for 12% of the world’s wheat.

Matt Culley, a Hampshire wheat and oilseed farmer who is head of the crops board at the National Farmers’ Union, said the new surge in fertiliser prices was adding to pressure on farmers already hit by rising labour, fuel and feed costs. “We’ve been suffering agricultural inflation,” he said.

Culley said higher fertiliser prices meant greater risks for farmers because it would mean more investment in the face of other potential threats to the growing season, such as poor weather or a drop in demand without a guaranteed price for crops.

He said he planned to use 20% less fertiliser, but would plant a greater area of land with crops in order to try to maintain yields and support UK production. Culley said some farmers may try to use more organic fertilisers by partnering with livestock producers or those running anaerobic digesters, which make energy from organic matter.

While the UK produces about 40% of its own fertiliser,