The Importance of Crop Nutrition in 2021

It’s fair to say that the world has not experienced a year as unpredictable or uncertain as 2020 was. Due in large part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the entire globe was impacted in myriad ways, from not gathering in large groups to working remotely for much (if not all) of the past year.

Yet through all this upheaval, one constant remained true for those who make their living in the agricultural marketplace — crop nutrition is a key component for any spring planting season. And as the industry prepares to jump into the 2021 growing season with both feet, there are two major reasons to believe this year will continue to be another strong one for crop nutrition demand for ag retailers and their grower-customers.

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The first of these reasons ties to the anticipated crop mix for 2021. Among the major row crops, corn generally tends to require the most crop nutrition to achieve maximum yields. And following a so-so year in 2019 because of unfavorable weather factors, corn acreage in 2020 rebounded nicely to top 95 million acres, according to USDA statistics.

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Now, going into the 2021 growing season, USDA was initialing forecasting a slight drop in corn acreage for the year because of depressed commodity prices vs. other major row crops such as soybeans. In fact, when the agency released its first set of acreage numbers back in November 2020, corn and soybean acreage projections were nearly identical at 90 million acres apiece.

However, when revised projections were published in March 2021, these numbers had changed somewhat. Now, according to USDA, corn acreage in 2021 should total between 91 million and 93 million acres, with soybeans dropping back to approximately 89 million acres.

What changed in only four months to alter these estimates? In a word, China.

For much of 2019 and 2020, an ongoing trade dispute between China and the U.S. meant higher tariffs in place kept Chinese buyers purchasing much U.S. grown corn. Yet as 2021 rolled around, China started buying up large amounts of U.S. corn for import, in part to help feed the country’s replenished hog herds. In fact, for all of 2019-20, China purchased only 7.6 million tons of U.S. corn. Through the first quarter of 2021, however, the country has already purchased 17.7 million tons of corn.

Naturally, with all this buying activity in U.S. corn, commodity prices for the crop have started moving upward. And U.S. growers are apparently adjusting their planting plans accordingly.

Our own numbers back this up. According to the CropLife® magazine 2021 Buying Intentions Survey, three fertilizer categories – dry fertilizer, liquid fertilizer, and micronutrients – are expected to see increased spending this year from the ag retail sector. In dry fertilizers, 63% of respondents anticipate spending between 1% and more than 11% more this year. For micronutrients, the figure is 60%. Liquid fertilizers, on the other hand, will have 59% of ag retailers from the survey spending more in for the 2021 growing season.

The bottom line from all this data is clear — crop nutrition will continue to be a major driving force in agriculture during the 2021 growing season. Let’s all enjoy the ride!

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