Ouch!!! Fertilizer prices.........

[Kessler Farms]

Due to the weather, I finally got 5 buggies of fertilizer spread yesterday. I buy my fertilizer in November, so pre-pay costs for me are $405/ton for Ammonium Nitrate, $530/ton for DAP, and $360/ton for Muriate of Potash. All told, it's about 30% higher than my '07 fertilizer.

 

[mark.r]

Due to the weather, I finally got 5 buggies of fertilizer spread yesterday. I buy my fertilizer in November, so pre-pay costs for me are $405/ton for Ammonium Nitrate, $530/ton for DAP, and $360/ton for Muriate of Potash. All told, it's about 30% higher than my '07 fertilizer.

When you guys say you buy your fert. in advance or pre-pay, do you actually have to take delivery of it and store on location or are you simply fronting the money to the dealer only to pick it up the following season when you are ready to use it?

 

[Kessler Farms]

I pay in November, and pickup/spread in late Feb., March. You do not take delivery or store fertilizer.

As an example: The first buggy I spread yesterday cost me $1624.14. That same buggy if actually purchased on 3/13/08 would have cost $2510.06. That's a huge increase from Nov. to March. This allows the supplier to pre-pay at a contracted price in the Fall as well.

 

[mark.r]

I pay in November, and pickup/spread in late Feb., March. You do not take delivery or store fertilizer.

Thanks. My reason for asking was that when I got my soil test back and found out how much fert. I needed and what the price was going to be, the guy at the Southern States/Co-Op said that the price was only good until 2/23/07 and that the price would probably be going up (this was beginning of Feb.) I said Ok, no problem, I'm not going to spread until second week of March but can I pay for it now and come back and pick it up in a couple of weeks. For some reason that idea didn't fly with them.

 

[pengs68]

I pay in November, and pickup/spread in late Feb., March. You do not take delivery or store fertilizer.

As an example: The first buggy I spread yesterday cost me $1624.14. That same buggy if actually purchased on 3/13/08 would have cost $2510.06. That's a huge increase from Nov. to March. This allows the supplier to pre-pay at a contracted price in the Fall as well.

How do you like your NH 7610S? I have been looking at some used ones. I like that tractor a lot.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

How do you like your NH 7610S? I have been looking at some used ones. I like that tractor a lot.

contact Soundguy about his also. He uses his 7610s for pulling a 15' brush cutter in Florida.

 

[Kessler Farms]

I like my 7610S pretty well, but honestly I'm a John Deere guy. My Dad bought the 7610 in 98, when he died in 04, I inherited the tractor. It pulls my NH 678 roller OK, but on these hills, I could use more. Two things I do not like about... the hydraulic pump is underpowered, the lift weight is lower than my JD 5403 and the loader is slow; #2- it runs just shy of hot when under heavy load and has since new, the radiator is small and stacked with the oil cooler. Right now it has 2400 hrs. on it and won't be replaced anytime soon. Overall, it has been a good machine, and it looks good. It looks like the older style tractors with the long frontend.

 

[pengs68]

Thanks. Good info. I am a few years away from purchasing a new tractor. Starting my research now. I drove one around the dealer lot I believe it was a 1998 also but an orchard had it and beat it up pretty good. I like the pto HP for the equipment I would run.

 

[jimg]

>>Due to the weather, I finally got 5 buggies of fertilizer spread yesterday.
Im surprised since you all have had significant rain just like down here in TN. My fields have been way too wet to have machinery running over them. Guess you must have good drainage there!

YOu all sure have taken good care of the 7610...looks practically new!

>>Ok, no problem, I'm not going to spread until second week of March but can
>>I pay for it now and come back and pick it up in a couple of weeks. For
>>some reason that idea didn't fly with them.
Odd...I thought that was SOP for large co-ops. The one where I trade doesnt have a prob w/ the pre-pay, pick up later concept.

 

[Kessler Farms]

As to the condition of the 7610, all of my equipment is stored inside, and we wash and wax all of the tractors about 4 times per year. And yes, it was quite wet Thursday, and I could only spread on hay fields. None of my pasturefields have been fertilized yet. Don't look like it will happen this week either.