ADM Farm Direct Fertilizer: An Approach to Crop Fertilizer that Gives Farmers the Advantage

Despite being traded as a commodity like grain, fertilizer markets at the farm level have historically lacked the same transparency. Crop nutrients traditionally have been bought and sold through distributors to local dealers to supply farmers in season.

ADM Farm Direct Fertilizer has changed the way farmers look at buying their fertilizer by providing transparency in fluctuating fertilizer markets. Our customers can buy crop nutrients from us at the best time of the year to maximize profitability, allowing growers to manage risk 12 months in advance of delivery. The unique approach puts the purchasing power of crop fertilizer in the hands of farmers.

“ADM allows me to get the fertilizer priced when I think it’s best for me, and it allows me to get the fertilizer I need, not just the fertilizer they are trying to sell,” says Jerry Seuntjens, Kingsley, Iowa, farmer. “We’re pricing seed and chemicals at the end of the year to get the best deal. Why wouldn’t we be pricing our fertilizer at an optimum time? It’s just that simple.”

ADM leverages its global logistics infrastructure and commodities trading expertise to acquire farm fertilizer from around the world and deliver it directly to farmers. Fertilizer is global and our ability to source and service enables us to offer a wide variety of bulk fertilizer products and helps reduce costs and interruptions associated with in season demand.

Controlling the Bottom Line

By providing farmers with the ability to lock in farm fertilizer prices up to 12 months in advance of delivery, we enable them to save money and better manage profit margins. With this added transparency and advance purchasing power, farmers can incorporate fertilizer into their margin calculation by buying fertilizer while forward selling grain when the time is right for their operation.

“As a farmer, we try to hedge all of our commodities, and fertilizer has not really been in my reach,” says Chad Fullerton, Campbell, Missouri, farmer. “ADM has started that, where you can forward price some grain and do the same with your fertilizer and fix your input costs.”

Patrick Howard, Sebree, Kentucky, farmer, adds that ADM Farm Direct has enabled him to have more control over costs. “A lot of times we may be marketing our grain a year or two in advance. With ADM Fertilizer we get the opportunity to purchase fertilizer a year in advance as well,” he says. “It’s changed the way we bought our fertilizer. We have a better way of marketing not only our grain, but to run our budgets on what our sales are going to be versus our input costs.”

Ordering Made Easy

We offer U.S. and Canadian customers a tool to monitor crop fertilizer market prices, contact their rep, order products, set delivery or pickup, and see invoices. Available online or as an app, the ADM Fertilizer portal gives farmers transparency into fertilizer markets that was previously unavailable.

“We’re accustomed to selling grain on our phone, it’s similar to what we’re doing now with fertilizer,” says Howard. “With ADM’s app, I am able to pull up my phone and look at what the market is doing and how much I can buy fertilizer for next spring or next fall.”

Actionable Market Insights

ADM Farm Direct customers receive fertilizer market updates throughout the year via monthly conference calls, texts and emails to help them make informed buying decisions. The monthly conference calls highlight what’s impacting supply and demand and make recommendations on when to buy. Call recaps are also available on the Portal.

“The calls are really good when I can make them,” says Riley Anderson, Morris, Manitoba, Canada, farmer. My rep sends out a recap of every call with all the major points, and we discuss what was covered and how it can benefit my farm. “They’re very helpful at showing us where the markets are going.”

Autonomy = Sustainability

While farmers find a benefit in the savings they gain and managing their profits through ADM Farm Direct, we also partner with them to ensure the right products are applied at the right rate, time, and place – enhancing the sustainability of their operations and maximizing their farm fertilizer ROI.

Seuntjens explains that ADM Farm Direct gives him more autonomy and control of his operation. He purchased a self-propelled fertilizer applicator after realizing the benefits of owning his own pesticide sprayer.

“Why would I want to hire someone to spread fertilizer, which is just as important as applying pesticides and the consequences of not applying fertilizer right could lead to several years of problems,” he says. “Why not purchase my own? It’s not that hard and I can control what’s going on my farm.”

Fullerton adds that when their farm switched to ADM Farm Direct, they started to apply fertilizer themselves and do multiple passes, timing application with crop demand. “The spreader purchase was the biggest moneymaker we’ve seen in a long time. That saved us a lot of money because we’re not hiring a third party. We’re doing it on our weather schedule. If we’re seeing rain forecasted two to three days out and we want to work 18-hour days, that’s our choice, we don’t have to rely on somebody else to do it.”

On-Farm Storage Security

Seuntjens installed upright storage bins to store fertilizer on his farm to have it available when he needs it. “By having on-farm storage, I don’t get held hostage on the prices. I have it in my bins for my acres. At combining time, I can sit back and not have to worry about a price increase, it’s already locked in, and I am ready for the following year.”

Seuntjens points out that while upright storage works best for his operation, there are other options, including flat storage or holding it in a semi.

Innovative Products

ADM offers a complete line of macro- and micronutrients, as well as biologicals, nitrogen stabilizers, inhibitors and slow-release products to help maximize nutrient-use efficiency.

ADM’s NeoVita 43™ biostimulant enhances nutrient use efficiency to boost crop yields. The product has been shown to increase corn yield potential up to seven bushels per acre when used with starter fertilizer. It can be applied in-furrow or foliar.

Through partnerships with BiOWiSH^® Technologies, ADM also offers Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers that improve nutrient uptake without requiring special handling or mixing. These products are designed for various fertilizer types, including dry and liquid options, ensuring flexibility for farmers across different crops and conditions.

The ADM Advantage

ADM Farm Direct Fertilizer is making a real difference for farmers who have discovered it by helping them save money, to get a better handle on managing their margins and by giving them autonomy and independence in the way they operate their farms.

“The biggest thing it does, is it unlocks an advantage to us that can make our farm more money. That’s the number one thing,” says Anderson. “The number two thing would be it gives us flexibility on when to buy and when to make the best decisions for our farm.”