Nitrogen Fertilizer Workshop

The Past, Present, and Future of the U.S. Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry

A workshop sponsored by the

Montana State UniversityInitiative for Regulation and Applied Economic Analysis (IRAEA)

 

Friday, February 7, 2020 

2:30-5:15 p.m. 

Montana State University, Linfield Hall, Room 231 

 

The Past, Present, and Future of the U.S. Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry workshop will provide an updated perspective on the U.S. nitrogen fertilizer industry. Numerous factors affected the size and industry concentration between 1970 and 2005, and biofuel policies in the mid-2000s, as well as hydraulic fracturing technologies, further impacted the industry over the past 15 years. The workshop will provide stakeholders with empirical evidence of these changes and examine how market concentration may be affecting strategic behavior regarding fertilizer capacity expansion. In addition, issues related to the adoption (and barriers to adoption) of variable rate fertilizer application technology will be discussed within the context of increasing or, perhaps, decreasing the demand for nitrogen fertilizer.

Featured Presenters:    

Anton BekkermanAnton Bekkerman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana State University and an IRAEA Research Fellow. He joined the MSU faculty in 2009 after completing his Ph.D. at North Carolina State University. He is also Associate Director of the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. Bekkerman's primary areas of research are grain marketing, basis and price forecast modeling, understanding how grain prices are affected by changes in supply chain infrastructures and quality demands, and analyzing the economic trade-offs of adopting alternative dryland cropping systems in Montana.

 

 

 

Gary BresterGary W. Brester is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana State University and an IRAEA Distinguished Research Scholar. He has two degrees from MSU - a B.S. in Agricultural Business and an M.S. in Applied Economics. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from North Carolina State University. He had been a faculty member at Kansas State University for seven years and at Montana State University for 22 years.  His primary research areas include the economics of the cattle and grain industries, technological innovations, agricultural policy, international trade, financial regulation, and production agriculture issues.

 

 

 

GriffinTerry Griffin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University.  He received his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University. His research and extension programs focus on cropping system economics, precision agricultural technologies, and big data. Current projects include farm management decision making under weather uncertainty, profitable automated variable rate irrigation applications, valuation of precision agriculture data, and farmland values.

 

 

 

Industry/Academic Panel:

  • Dr. Clain Jones, MSU Extension Soil Fertility Specialisty, Dept. of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences
  • Dr. Sreekala Bajwa, MSU, Vice President of Agriculture
  • Daniel Cole, Green Markets, Senior Editor and Fertilizer Dealer Report,  Managing Editor
  • Paul Broyles, Farmer, Rapelje, Montana
  • Moderator: Dr. Vincent Smith, MSU Professor of Economics and Co-Director of the IRAEA

 

Workshop Schedule

  • Welcome: 2:30 p.m., Dr. Wendy Stock, MSU Professor of Economics and Co-Director of the IRAEA
  • Anton Bekkerman:  2:40-3:05 p.m.  "The U.S. Nitrogen Fertilizer Production Industry: A 70-Year Evolution"
  • Gary Brester:  3:05-3:30 p.m. "Fertilizer Capacity Expansion Announcements: Credible or ‘Fake’ News?"
  • Terry Griffin: 3:30-4:00 p.m. "The Role of Variable Rate Technology in Fertilizer Usage"
  • Break: 4:00-4:15 p.m.
  • Panel Discussants:  4:15-5:00 p.m.
  • Question/Answer Session: 5:00-5:15 p.m.

 

For additional information, contact Dr. Gary Brester  or call 406-994-3700.