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Late-season fertilizer purchases above normal as market tightens

A fertilizer market analyst says last-minute purchases are running higher than usual, as much of the supply is typically secured well before planting begins.

“Normally I would say a lot of it is already locked up,” said Josh Linville, the vice president of fertilizer for Stone X Group. “Maybe some side dress tons and things like that would still to be bought.”

Linville says the market has been delayed.

“Since July 1, which is the start of the fertilizer year last year, there’s not really been a point in time when the farmer could lock in a profit,” he said. “This entire 2026 growing season the story around it has been, ‘What shade of red am I going to put on my financial statement?’”

He tells Brownfield the fertilizer market continues to get worse for growers.

“Which makes us delay worse, worse, and worse,” Linville said. “That’s one thing that worries me is we’re supposed to be planting and we’re backed into a corner.”

Linville says urea prices are up approximately 60% since the conflict in the Middle East began, a sign of how sharply markets have shifted as planting season gets underway.

Josh Linville: