Rising from the Potashes

“In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral, I am the very model of a modern Major-General.” — the musical “Pirates of Penzance,” but also President Trump.

We gotta get that P: Mineral-speaking, Trump wants to boost domestic production of several minerals, but the one we’re focusing on is potash, an important fertilizer for farmers in the U.S. Most of the potash used in the U.S. (more than 90%) is imported (a lot of that from our friends in Canada… *pending tariffs, hides face from view*).

MAPA: Make America Potash Again: An executive order signed recently by Trump would allow the U.S. to dig deeper. The order allows more mining of domestic potash, which is said to be available, but restricted by regulatory impediments, according to The Fertilizer Institute.

The plotash thickens: The U.S. only produces about 0.2% of the potash it uses, but one project is hoping to benefit from more production of the mineral: a $1.2B salt and potash mining facility in Michigan. The company is waiting for approvals to build on a 302-acre plot to produce up to 4M tons of potash each year. Big plots, big potash.

Give me an aye: Amidst threats of a tariff war, plus turbulent global relations with countries who supply potash, the proponents of this effort say domestic supply would limit impacts to the food supply.

Side P: A fertilizer expert with StoneX thinks efforts to increase domestic fertilizer should focus more on phosphate than potash, saying that supplies of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers are more constrained.

Either way, the U.S. seems to be between a rock and a hard place when it comes to fertilizers these days.