Affiliation:
1. Ness School of Economics and Management South Dakota State University Brookings South Dakota USA
2. Department of Economics Iowa State University Ames Iowa USA
Abstract
AbstractA strong surge in fertilizer prices in 2021 led farmers and policymakers to question the factors that drive fertilizer pricing. This study examines the relationship among natural gas, corn, and fertilizer prices, finding five structural breaks from 1997 to 2022. The pass‐through rates of natural gas and corn price changes to fertilizer prices show significant shifts after the passage of the biofuel mandate, with those changes fading as the market matured. Meanwhile, natural gas price changes are the main contributing factor in the latest period. However, the linkage among these prices continues to evolve and is likely to diminish over time.