CoBank, the cooperative bank that finances large segments of the U.S. agricultural economy, projects that fertilizer prices will remain elevated through 2028, according to a Rural Radio Network report carried on KUVR.

The forecast extends a stretch of high nutrient-input costs that has reshaped planting budgets for corn, wheat and cotton growers since the 2022 price spike. For CoBank — a bank owned by cooperatives and Farm Credit System entities — the call carries weight because its members include the ag retailers and farm cooperatives that purchase fertilizer in bulk and pass costs on to growers.

The bank did not publish specific price targets in the summary carried by KUVR. The "elevated through 2028" framing nevertheless sets a multi-year horizon that growers, retailers and input manufacturers will use to plan capital spending, on-farm storage and forward purchases.

Why an extended elevated call matters

Fertilizer typically ranks as the second-largest variable cost on a corn or wheat operation, behind seed and ahead of chemicals and fuel. When nitrogen, phosphate and potash prices stay high across several seasons, the pressure shows up in cash-rent negotiations, application rates, crop-mix decisions and retailer working-capital lines.

Cutting phosphorus or potash to manage budgets can carry an agronomic cost that surfaces in the following year's yield. Soybeans and other lower-nitrogen crops gain appeal when nitrogen stays expensive, which can shift regional rotations away from continuous corn and into soybean-corn or wheat-corn-double-crop systems.

How CoBank reaches its fertilizer calls

CoBank's research team tracks these downstream effects through quarterly economic outlooks and its Knowledge Exchange division. A "through 2028" horizon is longer than a typical 12- to 24-month agribusiness forecast, which signals the bank views current pricing as structural rather than a temporary market dislocation tied to one season's supply shock.

What could change the path

Elevated fertilizer pricing typically ties to a small set of variables: natural gas feedstock costs that drive nitrogen prices, mine output and export policy in potash-producing countries, and global grain prices that cap how much farmers can pay for nutrients. CoBank did not break out which of those levers its 2028 forecast leans on. Its research staff has historically pointed to supply concentration in nitrogen and potash as a structural factor that keeps a floor under pricing.

What farmers and retailers should watch

For retailers, a multi-year elevated call implies that working-capital and inventory exposure remain a board-level concern. For farmers, the call argues for locking in fall-application purchases when basis and seasonal price dips appear, rather than betting on a broad 2026 or 2027 decline.

CoBank's outlook lands as growers finalize 2026 fertilizer decisions and as cooperatives set prepayment terms with wholesalers. Whether the elevated call holds will depend on natural gas markets, export volumes from major potash producers, and the trajectory of North American nitrogen capacity now under construction.