Weekly fertilizer market tool
Fertilizer Price & Grain Buying Power Index
Compare fertilizer buying power against corn and soybean prices. The index measures how many bushels of grain are required to buy one short ton of fertilizer. Lower is better.
September 11, 2026
Corn fertilizer buying power
Lower ratios are more favorable| Product | Signal | Action | Current ratio bu/ton |
Regional 12M avg bu/ton |
10Y DTN percentile | 5Y avg bu/ton |
10Y avg bu/ton |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urea46-0-0 | Signal: RED | WAIT | 123.5 | 108.9 | 80% | 119.6 | 109.7 |
| UAN 3232-0-0 | Signal: YELLOW | WATCH | 85.8 | 86.6 | 70% | 91.0 | 83.8 |
| DAP18-46-0 | Signal: RED | WAIT | 173.3 | 170.6 | 80% | 152.9 | 138.8 |
| MAP11-52-0 | Signal: RED | WAIT | 180.9 | 171.6 | 80% | 162.3 | 146.6 |
| Potash0-0-60 | Signal: GREEN | BUY / COVER | 93.0 | 84.2 | BEST IN 10-YEAR RANGE <10% of annual benchmarks | 109.6 | 103.4 |
Soybeans fertilizer buying power
Lower ratios are more favorable| Product | Signal | Action | Current ratio bu/ton |
Regional 12M avg bu/ton |
10Y DTN percentile | 5Y avg bu/ton |
10Y avg bu/ton |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAP18-46-0 | Signal: RED | WAIT | 70.9 | 72.0 | 90% | 63.7 | 56.0 |
| MAP11-52-0 | Signal: RED | WAIT | 74.0 | 72.5 | 80% | 67.6 | 59.2 |
| Potash0-0-60 | Signal: YELLOW | WATCH | 38.0 | 34.4 | 40% | 45.9 | 41.8 |
Your quote, your numbers
Personal Fertilizer Value Calculator
Enter the fertilizer prices you can actually buy and compare them with the grain price that fits your situation. Your personal stoplights use the same 2016–2025 DTN retail / CBOT historical ranges as the market dashboard above.
| Fertilizer | Your quote $/ton |
Corn scenario | Soybean scenario | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ratio bu/ton | History | Signal | Ratio bu/ton | History | Signal | ||
| Urea46-0-0 |
$
|
— | — | ENTER QUOTE | — | — | — |
| UAN 3232-0-0 |
$
|
— | — | ENTER QUOTE | — | — | — |
| DAP18-46-0 |
$
|
— | — | ENTER QUOTE | — | — | ENTER QUOTE |
| MAP11-52-0 |
$
|
— | — | ENTER QUOTE | — | — | ENTER QUOTE |
| Potash0-0-60 |
$
|
— | — | ENTER QUOTE | — | — | ENTER QUOTE |
Personal results are a relative-value guideline only. Your local price, freight, terms, delivery timing, taxes, product availability, crop needs and grain marketing situation can materially change the economics. Confirm all prices and terms before making a purchase or sale decision.
How the fertilizer-to-grain ratio works
The index divides the fertilizer price per short ton by the grain price per bushel. For example, a ratio of 120 means it takes 120 bushels of that crop to equal the cost of one short ton of fertilizer. Because fewer bushels are required when fertilizer is relatively inexpensive compared with grain, a lower ratio represents stronger fertilizer buying power.
The public stoplight uses a consistent market basis: the current fertilizer reference is DTN's national retail benchmark, the grain reference is nearby CBOT futures, and the current ratio is ranked against the 2016–2025 DTN national-retail / CBOT history. The Cornbelt 12-month averages and charts are retained as separate regional trend context and do not set the stoplight.
What do the dashboard columns mean?
Current ratio: bushels of grain required to buy one short ton at the current fertilizer reference.
Regional 12-month average: the latest 12 matched USDA/Green Markets Cornbelt ratio observations. It is trend context only.
10Y DTN percentile: today's rank within 2016–2025 DTN national-retail fertilizer / CBOT grain history. This drives the stoplight. If today's ratio beats all 10 annual benchmarks, the dashboard shows BEST IN 10-YEAR RANGE and <10% instead of the confusing 0th percentile.
5-year / 10-year: averages from that same DTN retail / CBOT long-term history.
Regional Cornbelt fertilizer-to-corn history
Secondary regional trend context from matched USDA/Green Markets Cornbelt observations. Lower lines indicate stronger corn buying power. These charts do not drive the stoplights.
Regional Cornbelt fertilizer-to-soybean history
Secondary regional trend context from matched USDA/Green Markets Cornbelt observations. Lower lines indicate stronger soybean buying power. These charts do not drive the stoplights.
Fertilizer buying-power details by product
Use these product summaries to compare today's fertilizer-to-grain exchange with recent and long-term history. Ratios are expressed as bushels of grain per short ton of fertilizer.
Urea fertilizer buying power 46-0-0
123.5 bushels of corn per ton currently buys one short ton of Urea. The regional Cornbelt 12-month average is 108.9 bushels per ton. The current reading ranks at 80% of the 2016–2025 DTN retail / CBOT history, producing a RED / WAIT signal. Long-term context: 5-year average 119.6, 10-year average 109.7 bushels per ton.
UAN 32 fertilizer buying power 32-0-0
85.8 bushels of corn per ton currently buys one short ton of UAN 32. The regional Cornbelt 12-month average is 86.6 bushels per ton. The current reading ranks at 70% of the 2016–2025 DTN retail / CBOT history, producing a YELLOW / WATCH signal. Long-term context: 5-year average 91.0, 10-year average 83.8 bushels per ton.
DAP fertilizer buying power 18-46-0
173.3 bushels of corn per ton currently buys one short ton of DAP. The regional Cornbelt 12-month average is 170.6 bushels per ton. The current reading ranks at 80% of the 2016–2025 DTN retail / CBOT history, producing a RED / WAIT signal. Long-term context: 5-year average 152.9, 10-year average 138.8 bushels per ton.
70.9 bushels of soybeans per ton currently buys one short ton of DAP. The regional Cornbelt 12-month average is 72.0 bushels per ton. The current reading ranks at 90% of the 2016–2025 DTN retail / CBOT history, producing a RED / WAIT signal. Long-term context: 5-year average 63.7, 10-year average 56.0 bushels per ton.
MAP fertilizer buying power 11-52-0
180.9 bushels of corn per ton currently buys one short ton of MAP. The regional Cornbelt 12-month average is 171.6 bushels per ton. The current reading ranks at 80% of the 2016–2025 DTN retail / CBOT history, producing a RED / WAIT signal. Long-term context: 5-year average 162.3, 10-year average 146.6 bushels per ton.
74.0 bushels of soybeans per ton currently buys one short ton of MAP. The regional Cornbelt 12-month average is 72.5 bushels per ton. The current reading ranks at 80% of the 2016–2025 DTN retail / CBOT history, producing a RED / WAIT signal. Long-term context: 5-year average 67.6, 10-year average 59.2 bushels per ton.
Potash fertilizer buying power 0-0-60
93.0 bushels of corn per ton currently buys one short ton of Potash. The regional Cornbelt 12-month average is 84.2 bushels per ton. The current reading is better than all 10 annual 2016–2025 DTN retail / CBOT benchmarks — best in the 10-year range — producing a GREEN / BUY / COVER signal. Long-term context: 5-year average 109.6, 10-year average 103.4 bushels per ton.
38.0 bushels of soybeans per ton currently buys one short ton of Potash. The regional Cornbelt 12-month average is 34.4 bushels per ton. The current reading ranks at 40% of the 2016–2025 DTN retail / CBOT history, producing a YELLOW / WATCH signal. Long-term context: 5-year average 45.9, 10-year average 41.8 bushels per ton.
Fertilizer value index questions
What is a fertilizer-to-grain ratio?
It is the number of bushels of corn or soybeans required to equal the cost of one short ton of fertilizer. The ratio allows fertilizer and grain markets to be compared on the same purchasing-power basis.
Why is a lower ratio better?
A lower ratio means fewer bushels of grain are required to buy the same ton of fertilizer. That indicates stronger grain purchasing power relative to fertilizer.
What do the green, yellow and red signals mean?
Green is at or below the 30th percentile of the 2016–2025 DTN retail fertilizer / CBOT grain history, yellow is above 30% through 70%, and red is above 70%. The colors are relative-value guidelines rather than price forecasts.
What does “BEST IN 10-YEAR RANGE” mean?
It means the current fertilizer-to-grain ratio is lower — and therefore more favorable — than every annual benchmark in the 2016–2025 comparison set. With 10 annual observations, the dashboard displays this as <10% rather than a confusing 0th percentile.
Are these the fertilizer prices at my local dealer?
No. The public fertilizer reference is the DTN national average retail benchmark. Local fertilizer and grain prices can differ because of freight, basis, volume, supplier, timing, availability and other market factors. Always confirm current prices and terms in your local area.
How often is the index updated?
The tool is designed for weekly market updates. The update date displayed at the top of the dashboard shows the most recent ratio snapshot currently published.
Should I buy fertilizer just because the signal is green?
No single indicator should determine a purchasing decision. Use the index as one market guideline alongside your actual supplier quote, grain bid, agronomic plan, cash flow, storage and logistical needs.
Can I compare my own fertilizer quote?
Yes. Use the Personal Fertilizer Value Calculator above to enter the price you can actually buy, along with the corn or soybean value you want to compare. The calculator returns your own ratio, historical percentile and stoplight. Entries are calculated in your browser and are not saved by this plugin.
Current fertilizer buying conditions
Corn buying power currently shows favorable: Potash; watch: UAN 32; wait: Urea, DAP, MAP.
Soybeans buying power currently shows watch: Potash; wait: DAP, MAP.
The signal is a relative-value indicator, not a forecast of the absolute fertilizer or grain price. It is designed to identify periods when grain has historically stronger or weaker purchasing power versus fertilizer.