California Water Infrastructure and Fertilizer Recovery Possible in 2023
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.**California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson has called on state policymakers to build critical infrastructure to protect water resources and allow America’s most important agricultural sector to continue to thrive.
Johansson told attendees at the California Farm Bureau’s Annual Meeting in Monterey, “The management of scarcity is failing.” “It’s time now to reimplement the management of
bounty, which made California great.”
California’s nearly 70,000 farms are navigating severe water shortages.
**Fertilizer consumption suffered in 2022 due to market volatility and record-high prices, but a new Rabobank report says a recovery in consumption is possible in some regions next year.
Rabobank says, “The affordability index’s moving average is trending lower as fertilizer prices are returning to pre-Ukraine War levels.”
The key point to watch for is nitrogen products, as the natural gas crisis in Europe has the potential to make urea and ammonia more expensive.
**USDA says export inspections of corn and wheat rose during the week ending on December 1.
Corn inspections were just over 524,300 metric tons, up from 311,700 tons the prior week, but still behind the 786,000 tons inspected during the same time last year.
Wheat assessments reached 334,650 metric tons during the week, up from 284,500 tons during the previous week, and ahead of the 285,000 tons inspected at the same time last year.