Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - 9:30 AM
221-1

Fertilizer Supply Implications of Biofuels Production - An Industry Perspective.

Kim Polizotto, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Potash Corp. of Sask. Sales, 1339 Bluebird Dr, Greenfield, IL 46140-1114

As corn grain is the present carbohydrate source of choice for ethanol production in the U.S., corn production and acreage changes have a major impact on fertilizer use.  First, assuming a significant portion of the increase in corn acreage comes from soybean reductions, more acres will get fertilized with nitrogen.  Second, those fields will not get the 40-50 pounds of nitrogen credit we give for corn after soybeans so application rates are higher.   For acreage that was not soybeans, but maybe cotton or wheat, N fertilizer rates for corn are usually higher than these crops, so again, nitrogen use will be increase.  Corn acrease in the U.S. was projected to increase 10 million acres from 2006 to 2007.  In 2007 it was estimated that “corn after corn” acreage in the U.S. increased by about 8 million acres.  These two factors alone equate to a significant increase in nitrogen fertilizer demand across the corn belt.

 In addition to the U.S. situation, economic growth and rising incomes, along with global population growth, are increasing the world's demand for more and better food. Declining arable land per capita, and substitution of ethanol for fossil fuels are putting more pressure on crop production. The result is increased urgency to move more rapidly towards optimum levels of balanced fertilization. The outlook for ethanol is discussed in the context of its impact upon global fertilizer requirements.


Back to Symposium--Nutrient Management for Biofuels Production
Back to S08 Nutrient Management & Soil & Plant Analysis

Back to The ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings (November 4-8, 2007)