EnviroMonitor Can Help Farmers Contend with Rising Fertilizer Costs

In the 2020s, farmers have had to think a lot about fertilizer. When Davis and AEM surveyed growers around the world in 2023 and 2025, we identified fertilizer and seed cost as the third-biggest challenge both times, trailing only weather/climate and labor cost/availability.

For farmers in the U.S. growing corn and wheat, fertilizer costs have risen to account for more than one third of production costs since 2020. With some growers reporting that fertilizer accounts for as much as 45% of yearly expenses, it’s more important than ever to ensure the investment produces a healthy yield. That’s why Davis offers the EnviroMonitor® system for precision agriculture!

Understanding the volatile fertilizer market (2020 – 2025)

We’re halfway through this decade, but farmers have seen a lifetime of challenges in the 2020s. Things started with the global COVID-19 pandemic disrupting supply chains, and even after that situation normalized, conflict in Ukraine and a shifting global economy have made it tough to establish any normalcy in the fertilizer market. It’s been more of a year-to-year scramble industry wide.

Prices for ammonia and urea first spiked in 2021. The year started with both valued at under $500 US per ton, but prices shot through the roof in the summer, with the cost of ammonia more than tripling and that of urea nearly doubling. Those expenses hit farmers hard, with many having to make the tough choice between going further into debt to ensure the harvest or gambling on what yields might look like with reduced fertilizer.

While those prices stabilized gradually throughout 2023 and 2024, it still hasn’t offset the falling rates farmers make for their crops. According to a World Bank report published this July, fertilizer is continuing to get less affordable relative to farm profits, even if prices remain well below the levels growers saw several years ago.

A number of global economic factors have caused fertilizer costs to rise again in 2025. Liquid sulphur prices have more than tripled since the beginning of the year, and urea prices shot up more than 25% between May and July. China has exported significantly less nitrogen and urea since last year, and how much they will continue to contribute to the global market remains uncertain. When that’s paired with other new tariffs, trade policies, and sanctions around the world, the net result is a 15% increase in the World Bank’s fertilizer cost index (the ratio of fertilizer price to food price) year to date.

That means, even if the numbers aren’t as big as they were a few years ago, farmers are still feeling the squeeze. The pressure not to overuse or waste fertilizer isn’t going away.   

Fighting back against fertilizer costs with EnviroMonitor®

Farmers have few options in coping with the up-front cost of fertilizer. It’s a necessity for growing crops at production level. All they can do is become aggressively accurate in applying the right fertilizer, at the right rate, at the right time, and in the right place. They can effectively “spoon feed” their crops. They may consider waiting to fertilize until the spring instead of fall and spring.

One option all growers have is to consider using an EnviroMonitor system that pairs hyperlocal weather data from the field with soil moisture sensors. The data from EnviroMonitor makes sure that liquid fertilizer is applied so precisely that every bit of the plant boosting nutrients is carried to the root zone, not to the groundwater or stream. Using the pest management features of the Davis Mobilize app can help keep plants healthy so that roots and leaves can effectively use fertilizers and water.

Those farmers who already have installed EnviroMonitor can pat themselves on the back: they have a valuable tool for helping to make sure that their irrigation and application practices are perfectly tweaked to take advantage of fertilizers without waste.

The EnviroMonitor system will also help them meet other rising-cost challenges. Farmers around the world are paying more for weed killers, crop seeds, and labor. EnviroMonitor can help them avoid spraying and planting when the winds are too strong. They can protect their labor force and keep them on the job by carefully monitoring heat and UV conditions in the field.

The first half of this decade has been anything but normal, especially for farmers. But our appreciation for the growers who seem to be doing double-suffering duty to keep food on our tables will never go back to “normal.” You are our heroes!

To get a more advanced perspective on using EnviroMonitor and Mobilize for irrigation, set up a FREE consultation with one of our Agriculture Specialist or download our FREE buying guide for agricultural weather solutions.