Ohio State Posts Fourth-Quarter 2026 Fertilizer Price Survey

Ohio State University Extension has released its fourth-quarter 2026 fertilizer price report for Ohio, the latest installment in the retail price series that growers across the state use to benchmark nutrient costs before locking in input purchases.

The report comes from OSU Extension's Agriculture and Natural Resources program in Hardin County, which collects quoted retail prices for major fertilizer products from dealers across Ohio on a quarterly schedule. For row-crop operators in the Maumee and Scioto watersheds and the state's western corn belt, the series functions as a reference point (a published benchmark growers compare against their own dealer quotes) rather than a transaction price.

What does the report actually measure?

The Extension survey captures posted retail prices, not settlement prices. Growers reading the release should hold three distinctions in mind:

• The figures reflect a specific reporting window in the quarter; nitrogen prices in particular can move within weeks on natural gas costs and river logistics.
• Retail quotes vary by region, product form and volume; a bulk anhydrous ammonia quote in northwest Ohio is not comparable to a bagged product quote near the Ohio River.
• Volume discounts, application services and financing terms sit outside the posted number, so the effective cost per acre can differ materially from the survey line item.

Why the quarterly cadence matters for margins

Fertilizer typically ranks as the largest variable input cost in Ohio corn production, ahead of seed and crop protection. A move in the nitrogen line of the Extension survey translates directly into the partial budget (the comparison of added costs against added returns for one decision) that determines whether corn-after-soybeans pencils out at prevailing Chicago futures and local basis.

The fourth-quarter release lands as growers finalize purchase decisions for the following crop year. Agronomists at OSU Extension have long advised using the quarterly series to time purchases: comparing the current release against the prior quarter's numbers shows the direction of the market, while comparing against the same quarter a year earlier strips out the seasonal pattern in fertilizer pricing.

How to use the numbers without over-reading them

Condition-style reports and price snapshots are data, not forecasts. The Extension release reports what dealers quoted during the survey window; it does not project where urea, ammonia, DAP (diammonium phosphate, the standard phosphate fertilizer) or potash will trade at spring application. Growers who treat a single quarterly print as a forward signal are extrapolating beyond what the methodology supports.

The practical workflow Extension educators recommend is straightforward: pull the current quarter's figures, set them against the previous two quarters, convert the per-ton prices to a cost per acre using your own application rates from soil tests, and then compare that cost per acre against your expected revenue at current futures minus local basis.

The next installment of the series will arrive with the first quarter of 2027, in time for pre-plant purchase decisions.