By Brian Hefty

Roundup today is 10% (or more) LESS expensive than last month!

Each fall, it is now common to find the best deal of the year on glyphosate.  The main reason why is because glyphosate manufacturing plants want to run 365 days a year, and they don’t have large terminals they own or are willing to pay for to store product until you need it again next spring.  Their best option is to discount the product and move it out the door today.  If you want what will likely be the best deal within the next 12 months, PAY FOR AND PICK UP your glyphosate before harvest.

I knew a price drop was coming back in July, but I expected the drop would be greater than it turned out to be.  Not only was I expecting the normal seasonal price reduction, but knowing that inventory levels in the U.S. were the highest they had been in several years, I thought there was a chance we would see glyphosate down 25% or more, not 10% or 15%.  Here’s what went wrong (or right, depending on what you value).

In China, chemical manufacturers have been spending little money on what we would call the environmental side of the business.  In other words, manufacturing in China is far more likely to pollute the earth compared to manufacturing in the U.S.  Since two of China’s biggest customers, the U.S. and the European Union, not only want cheap products, they want them made in a way that is safer for our planet, the Chinese government is starting to crack down on some of the biggest violators.  Several glyphosate manufacturing plants were shut down earlier this summer, and others have been re-tooled to reduce their environmental footprint.  Obviously, these actions reduce glyphosate supplies and increase manufacturing costs.  That is the reason glyphosate hasn’t gotten cheaper, and it is also the reason I expect glyphosate to be higher in 2014 than it was in 2013.  My estimate at this time that prices will be 10% higher, but we’ll see how that plays out.

You have an opportunity now to get glyphosate at a reduced price before we see the price increases we’re expecting this winter and next spring.  I strongly encourage you to talk to your retailer and take product now in order to keep your costs low.