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Ethanol, Fertilizer & Higher Natural Gas Prices

June 22, 2011 By admin

What does growing corn and other crops have anything to do with natural gas? It takes about 33,000 cubic feet of natural gas to produce one ton of nitrogen fertilizer. About 96 percent of the corn planted in the United States depends on fertilizers, such as Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3), 28pct-Liquid Nitrogen, Urea and Ammonium Sulfate. Fertilizers consume more than three percent of total U.S. natural gas use. The ethanol boom could dramatically impact natural gas prices.

Some 90 percent of the cost of manufacturing nitrogen fertilizer depends upon the price of natural gas. The more fertilizer produced, the more natural gas is utilized and the higher both eventually cost. And according to widely followed natural gas commentator Phil Flynn of Chicago-based Alaron Trading, “Ethanol plants are going to require natural gas consumption to produce electricity.” Flynn hadn’t yet conducted a study into how much natural gas consumption would be required for these plants, but said in a telephone interview that he could be pursuing this.

We asked Flynn if the ethanol mania would have any impact on natural gas prices. “Absolutely,” he responded, citing that increased corn planting would require natural gas for the nitrogen-based fertilizers and to power the 116 existing ethanol plants. Another 78 plants are now being constructed. Flynn pointed out natural gas prices would benefit from the ‘front and back end’ of the ethanol boom.

Nearly 95 percent of U.S. ethanol distilleries use natural gas boilers. Citigroup analyst Gil Yang estimated 28 billion cubic feet of natural gas would be consumed for every one billion gallons of ethanol produced. Cumulative ethanol production could surpass 12 billion gallons. Some analysts are predicted a natural gas demand increase up to one percent from the ethanol boom. But their estimates do not include increased fertilizer demand to increase corn yields.

Record Corn Planting and Natural Gas

Corn acreage is one of the largest consumers of nitrogen-based fertilizer. And because of the recent ethanol subsidies, more corn will be planted this year than in the past six decades. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, corn growers intend to plant 90.5 million acres in 2007. Because forecasts of ethanol production are expected to increase, expect more corn to be grown. In 2008, about 25 percent of U.S. corn production is planned to produce ethanol. By 2012, 4.3 billion bushels of corn are anticipated for ethanol production. It takes about 450 pounds of corn to produce 25 gallons of ethanol fuel to power an SUV.

The recent ethanol boom has become a blessing for fertilizer companies and their share prices. Since this past summer, shares in Saskatchewan-based Potash Corp have more than doubled to a record $191.46/share. The company is the world’s largest potash producer and a significant producer of nitrogen fertilizers. Shares in Illinois-based CF Industries have nearly tripled in the same period. The company manufactures both nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers. Both have benefited from relatively lower natural gas prices in the face of strong demand for their products.

In 2004, about 12 million tons of nitrogen nutrients were consumed. But the increased corn planting has begun causing shortages in nitrogen fertilizers, according to Potash chief executive William Doyle. He told Bloomberg News last week that some farmers are not receiving sufficient fertilizer supplies because transportation facilities are nearly overloaded with shipments. This could impact fertilizing in mid summer if supplies continue to remain tight.

Corn planting takes place now through May in the Midwestern U.S. Some farmers pre-plant their nitrogen in March and April and skip the ‘side dressing’ in the summer. Fertilizing is generally done for two to three weeks at corn planting time. Side dressing is done over another two to three week period in July. “Knee high by the Fourth of July,” describes when the second fertilization is done. This refers to the height of the corn and represents the last fertilizer application for the growing season. Side dressing is said to give plants a boost and provide an easy, smooth and better harvest.

We talked with an Ohio farmer who told us, “Even though we farmers are complaining about the additional cost of fertilizer, we can not afford to not apply adequate amounts for corn production.” He explained, “If 28-percent Nitrogen costs me $100/ton more, and I use one-third ton per acre, that is an additional cost of $33/acre. With a yield of 150 bushels/acre, the cost is $0.22 more per bushel. But if corn prices are $1.50/bushel higher, then I can’t afford to under-apply the nitrogen.” There is a better return in higher corn-producing states, such as Iowa and Illinois, where yields are 200 bushels per acre.

The western Ohio farmer also compared his fertilizer costs for this season compared to previous plantings. “In 2000, my cost for NH3 was $242/ton,” he said. This year’s cost has nearly doubled to $580/ton. For the 2001 planting season, he paid $165/ton for 28-percent liquid nitrogen. His costs would have been about $280/ton for this season, but he pre-paid for this fertilizer in December, paying about the same he would have paid in 2004. For every one dollar increase or decrease in natural gas prices, fertilizer prices can swing up or down by 95 cents.

For this farmer’s fertilizer applications, he prefers 28-percent liquid nitrogen for each of handling and application. While anhydrous ammonia (NH3) can also be used, and is cheaper per unit of nitrogen, he finds it is less safe for use. NH3 is also a favorite among the illegal methamphetamine-manufacturers, which siphon off the ammonia from farmer’s nursing tanks. Urea is volatile and used mainly for wheat, but it also used by western Corn Belt farmers.

Fertilizer prices have more than doubled over the past 15 years, and there is no respite in the near-term. A recent Energy Information Administration outlook forecasts benchmark natural gas prices rising by 9.2 percent in 2007 and increasing another 3.7 percent in 2008. World demand for fertilizers grew by 13 percent between 2001 and 2005, according to The Fertilizer Institute. After China and India, the U.S. is the world’s third largest nitrogen producer. Next year, the Ohio farmer could be faced with a steeper bill to fertilize his corn and other crops.

Global Nitrogen Demand to Drive Natural Gas Demand

The ethanol success story in Brazil has spread worldwide. Fortunately for Brazil, ethanol is produced by sugarcane, not corn. The country relies mostly upon non-nitrogen-based potash for its fertilizer – possibly as much as 6.5 million tons in 2007. But Brazil’s productivity of liter per hectare from sugarcane dwarfs corn’s productivity.

According to The Worldwatch Institute, sugarcane yields about 6,500 liters of ethanol for every hectare compared to less than 3,000 liters of ethanol produced on every corn hectare in the United States. The ratio of energy output of sugarcane, compared to the fossil energy input required to produce ethanol, is higher than 8 times. The same ratio applied to corn stands between 1.3 and 1.8.

As with all commodity discussions, one must talk about China and India. Ethanol production is rising, but remains far below the percentage shares of the U.S. and Brazil. Fertilizers are serious business in China, where nearly 50 million tonnes of fertilizer are annually consumed. By 2011, fertilizer production could top 63.5 million metric tons, according to China’s National Agricultural and Rural Economic Development (NARED). Of this, China hopes to produce 42 million metric tons of nitrogen fertilizers.

By 2020, there could be as little as 0.2 hectares of agricultural land per person. But China is faced with a significant problem while maintaining an annualized 7.5-percent GDP growth rate during this time. How will China obtain sufficient natural gas to reach this target?

Earlier this month, a senior adviser to the National Development and Reform Committee (NDRC) announced, “We are seeing difficulties importing gas.” China has been stymied in meeting its annual LNG import target of 20 million tons by 2015. The country has been attempting to reduce its dependence on imported oil by increasing use of natural gas.

China’s NDRC has targeted natural gas to comprise 8 percent of the country’s energy mix to help ease the pollution burden the coal industry places on China. The country is the world’s largest copper consumer and the largest steel manufacturer. For its energy, it draws heavily upon its coal production – and is now expected to become a net importer of coal for 2007.

High natural gas prices have forced China to rely more upon coal and accelerate its emphasis on the country’s growing natural gas sector. In March, PetroChina and Royal Dutch Shell PLC started commercial production in the joint venture’s Changbei gas field in northwestern China. Other natural gas fields in southwestern China, PetroChina’s Longgang gas field, and Sinopec Corp’s Pugang gas field in Sichuan province, may both show promise in increasing gas’s role in the country’s energy mix. But the NDRC’s plans of 92 billion cubic meters of natural gas production by 2010 is likely to fall short. At this time, gas may only reach a bit higher, at 5.3 percent, of the China’s overall energy production.

Which brings us back to fertilizer. China plans to annually increase grain productive capacity by 0.65 percent within five years – and hopes to decrease planted grain acreage by 0.18 percent. The state planning commissions will be forced to improve yields. Hence, we expect an increased reliance upon nitrogen fertilizers to realistically achieve the country’s target. Significant percentage increases in nitrogen-based fertilizers may be needed to overcome the poor soil nutrients in China.

How will China reconcile lowered expectations of natural gas imports in the context of increasing nitrogen-based fertilizers? We have previously covered China’s emerging coalbed methane (CBM) sector because (a) the country hopes to reduce the number of coal mining accidents resulting from methane explosions and (b) CBM can help increase the country’s energy mix.

According to the Carbon Finance Unit of The World Bank, China has placed a significant emphasis on coal methane projects. China’s National Climate Change Coordination Committee place coal methane projects into the top four prioritized categories for developing projects. Over a 20-year period, China hopes to reduce the carbon dioxide equivalent of 40 million tons by capturing the methane gas from the country’s coal mines and utilizing the gas to produce clean energy.

Now there is a third reason to follow the country’s CBM sector. A large share of China’s coalbed methane consumption has been allocated for nitrogen-based fertilizers. The industry generally depends upon methane gas for nitrogen production. As the country increases fertilizer production, the country’s state-owned CUCBM (China United Coalbed Methane) company will play a responsible role in helping bring many early-days CBM projects into production.

This could also explain BP Plc’s announcement, earlier this year, planning to heavily invest in the expansion of the company’s CBM fields in the San Juan Basin (Colorado, New Mexico). BP plans to spend more than $2 billion to increase its methane gas production. Other countries are also looking to CBM as another way to meet the increased demand for natural gas.

When CUCBM began awarding the production-sharing contracts (PSC) to foreign-owned companies, such as Far East Energy, Green Dragon Gas, Fortune Oil and Pacific Asia China Energy, the company probably did not forecast a large share of the methane production to be produced from the coalbed would go for fertilizer production. But, at this stage, this could increasingly become the case.

As the world moves forward to manufacture ethanol for its energy needs, or to make its soil yield a greater harvest, the role of natural gas could increase dramatically. Subsequently, the floor for natural gas prices could begin escalating as has been found with many other commodities. Not just in the United States, but in many other countries where fertilizer consumption could grow by leaps and bounds.

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Pregnancy Morning Sickness – Take It In Your Stride

June 3, 2011 By admin

The word “pregnancy morning sickness” is actually very misleading. You may feel why you call it morning sickness when I suffer the whole daylong. Morning sickness or nausea may affect a pregnant woman anytime during the day. At least fifty percent of pregnant women experience nausea, an important yet scary early pregnancy symptom while some just don’t experience it, they are luckier perhaps.

Vomiting or nausea during pregnancy as it is commonly called may occur during the first trimester for a pregnant woman. You may experience relief from morning sickness after around 14 weeks but you never know it may keep visiting you throughout your pregnancy.

Cause Of Morning Sickness:

As you prepare for the arrival of a new baby many physical changes are taking place in your body and probably a combination of these changes causes morning sickness. Some medical reasons could be listed as follows:

The rising levels of the hormones human chorionic gonadotropin(hCG) and estrogen during the same time that nausea commonly occurs are prime suspects though there is no confirmed proof of this finding During pregnancy a woman seems to have a very high sensitivity to strong odors. Any strong odor even of cooked rice or the like triggers a nauseating feeling probably due to a high level of estrogen. It is also a possibility that the gastro intestinal tracts of some women are more sensitive to changes of pregnancy Some people believe that morning sickness is caused by Vitamin B deficiency. Though taking Vitamin B6 supplement gives morning sickness relief the actual reason why is still unknown. Multivitamins taken during conception and beginning stages of pregnancy give substantial relief but we really do not know why.Factors that may promote your chances of pregnancy morning sickness:

In case you are carrying twins your body produces twice the number of hormones so the chances are high In case you had it during a previous pregnancy Hereditary also plays an important role so if your mom had it there is a fair chance you may tooThere is no specific cure for morning sickness but there are some tips you can follow to alleviate them. You may take a multivitamin, Vitamin B6 or doxylamine after consulting your doctor. Avoid discomforting odors, eat frequent meals, drink liquids between meals not immediately after a meal and an important point is never keep your stomach empty. Always keep some crackers and citrus fruits with you and by your bed. Make sure to keep munching something all day. Eat simple food do not have spicy, fried, heavy foods which may enhance your nausea.

Nausea can be very irritating and painful especially if it takes on a very severe form. Just take a few precautions and remember it will definitely get better as time passes. Do not let yourself get dehydrated at any point consult your physician if you are not retaining anything for 24 hours. Don’t worry it will not affect your baby just make sure you do lose too much weight once the discomfort relieves you may begin eating normally and the baby will gain weight.

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Trying To Get Pregnant – Just How Long Do You

April 21, 2011 By admin

Trying To Get Pregnant – Just How Long Do You Have To Wait?

Trying to get pregnant: One of the most infuriating parts of conceiving a child is actually waiting to get pregnant. A lot of women seeking to get pregnant wonder: How long should it take for me to conceive? Along with, what exactly are these prospects? Even though there are particular steps you can take to raise your chances of conceiving, you should know of the general duration it requires each and every woman to get pregnant. The typical time it takes to conceive – Normally, 20% of people seeking to get pregnant will not end up pregnant in the initial year of attempting. Reported by one study, 25% of couples get pregnant in the primary four week period of attempting, whilst 60% of partners seeking to get pregnant do it within six months. On the other hand, 75% of couples get pregnant within just 9 months while 80% fall pregnant inside a year. Lastly, around 90% of partners get pregnant within 18 months of attempting.

Factors Which Will Effect You Getting Pregnant!

There are a variety of factors that could have an affect on your prospects of conceiving a child, which include your lifestyle, and just how physically fit you might be. Mental health factors such as depressive disorders and tension may also have an impact on your chances of becoming pregnant. The inability to conceive is yet another, although less common cause of not being able to get pregnant. The stress caused by not being able to conceive is affecting about 2% of the United states population, or around 1.2 million men and women.

Perhaps surprisingly, in couples that are encountering difficulty seeking to get pregnant, the condition sits evenly in both sexes, with equally male and female factors accounting for 30% of infertile partners.

There are a variety of factors that could have an affect on your prospects of conceiving a child, which include your lifestyle, and just how physically fit you might be.

Mental health factors such as depressive disorders and tension may also have an impact on your chances of becoming pregnant. The inability to conceive is yet another, although less common cause of not being able to get pregnant. The stress caused by not being able to conceive is affecting about 2% of the United states population, or around 1.2 million men and women. Perhaps surprisingly, in couples that are encountering difficulty seeking to get pregnant, the condition sits evenly in both sexes, with equally male and female factors accounting for 30% of infertile partners.

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How To Achieve A Healthy Pregnancy

April 4, 2011 By admin

For most women, pregnancy is a time of great joy, excitement and anticipation. Pregnancy is a time of physical and emotional change when lots of changes occur naturally within your body. If you are a smoker, then use your pregnancy, or the time when you are planning pregnancy to quit smoking and stay quit after the baby is born. Maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of non-syndromic orofacial clefts in infants. Smoking during pregnancy is a very bad choice. Pregnancy is a time to “listen” to your body – it is not a time to be dieting, and trying to lose weight.

How can I Achieve a Healthy Pregnancy

The key to a healthy pregnancy is planning it in the first place. Eating well can help you have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy newborn – Healthy mum, healthy pregnancy. If you try to stay as healthy as you can during your pregnancy this will give you the best chance of delivering a healthy baby at full term.

As an expectant mother, your top priority should be healthy eating. Eating well should begin before you become pregnant so your body will be stocked up with the nutrients you need for a healthy pregnancy. Shortly after finding out that you have conceived you should see a doctor, as your doctor can explain to you about healthy pregnancy weight gain. Staying healthy is doubly important when you’re pregnant.

Exercise is also an important part of a healthy pregnancy, exercise can help you return to your pre-pregnancy weight faster and also have a faster, easier birth.

Adequate sleep is essential to promote a healthy pregnancy. Talking with a health care provider is one of the most important things women and families can do to prepare for a healthy pregnancy. Even before conception, it is absolutely essential to plan for a healthy pregnancy. A healthy lifestyle, even before you become pregnant is the best way to give your baby a healthy start. If you’re planning to become pregnant, prepare for a healthy pregnancy by taking care of medical and dental concerns beforehand. Pregnancy is NOT the time to be on a weight loss program.

What Are The First Symptoms Of Pregnancy?

In my experience, very early symptoms of pregnancy are not always text book. There are many different signs and symptoms of pregnancy, and although most women expect certain symptoms to come with pregnancy, these do vary according to individual women and to their individual pregnancies. The earliest symptoms of pregnancy are generally nausea, fatigue, and breast tenderness, but not everybody experiences these. Nausea is actually a good sign as it tells the doctor that the pregnancy is likely to be going on well in terms of hormones. The most commonly looked for early sign of pregnancy is missing a menstrual period. Although you may find you have a lot of the symptoms, the only way to truly tell if you are pregnant is to obtain a positive pregnancy test. Blood tests can confirm a pregnancy within days of conception if pregnancy is suspected and you really can’t wait to find out. Women should always report worrying signs or symptoms to their doctor during pregnancy.

Pregnancy is an amazing phenomenon of nature that is the core of our existence. One of the easiest and best ways to avoid problems and complications during pregnancy is to get regular medical exams from your doctor or midwife. Pregnancy is an exciting time in a woman’s life, and you should take care of yourself and your unborn baby. During pregnancy women are offered a range of tests which are designed to check whether the baby is developing normally and if the pregnancy is going well.

Pregnancy is a very exciting time in most women’s lives, but for others an unexpected and unplanned pregnancy is not such welcome news. If the pregnancy is unexpected, you may be feeling scared or confused. This is a usual reaction to an unplanned pregnancy. There are many organizations that can and will assist, and it is always good to be able to talk to the father, friends and family to help get your feelings into perspective.

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Gardening With Organic Fertilizers

April 2, 2011 By admin

WHAT IS ORGANIC FERTILIZER?

Basically, inorganic fertilizers are made from synthetic, manufactured chemicals, and organic fertilizers are made from naturally occurring organic material. This is a bit of an oversimplification, however, and sometimes the line between organic and inorganic fertilizers can get a bit blurry. For example, naturally occurring minerals such as limestone, saltpeter, and mine rock phosphate, although technically inorganic (they come from rocks, after all), have been used as fertilizers for centuries and are just as safe as organic fertilizers.

Organic fertilizers are generally created as other organic material that rots and decays. As plant and animal matter rots, the organic material breaks down into its component water and minerals. The resulting biomass is very high in nutrient quality.

The most common example of this is compost, which many backyard gardeners make themselves from organic waste, dead leaves, grass clippings, leftover food, etc. Another example is animal manure, which is also very high in nutrient content and has been used in agriculture as a fertilizer for thousands of years. Finally, some plants are used directly as fertilizers, like seaweed and peat moss.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH INORGANIC CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS?

Many inorganic fertilizers contain synthesized chemicals that do not occur naturally in nature, and thus can become harmful. The introduction of such chemicals, if used extensively over time, can throw off the local environment and ecosystem.

The most common form of chemical pollution occurs when it rains, and the synthetic chemical fertilizers get washed out of the soil into the rainwater runoff. This agricultural runoff flows into the ponds and streams, where they frequently kill the fish and other water life. These chemicals also eventually leech down into the groundwater that people and animals drink.

Finally, some crops will absorb these synthetic chemicals into their plant matter as they grow. When people buy such produce and eat it, these chemicals are introduced to their bodies. One meal of such produce may be harmless, but over a lifetime of eating such produce, these synthetic chemicals can build up in the body.

IS ORGANIC FERTILIZER REALLY BETTER?

Obviously, the introduction of unnatural chemicals into the local environment is not a problem with organic fertilizers, which are made from other naturally occurring organic plant and animal matter.

In terms of encouraging crop grow, however, organic fertilizers are just as good as synthetic fertilizers. Whereas synthetic fertilizers are concentrated, organic fertilizers are more diluted throughout a large amount of biomass. On the one hand, this means you have to use more organic fertilizer to achieve the same effect as a smaller amount of synthetic fertilizer. On the other hand, however, this means that the nutrients are released into the soil gradually, at a slower, more consistent rate over the course of the crops growth cycle. This prevents the boom-and-bust cycle that some synthetic fertilizers can create in crops.

Finally, a 32-year study in Sweden between organic and synthetic fertilizers found that, although both greatly encouraged crop growth over unfertilized fields, organic fertilizers encouraged a higher yield than synthetic fertilizers (65% compared to 50%).

We hope this article has answered some of your questions about organic fertilizers. This article, however, is just the tip of the iceberg, there is much more to learn. If you want to try using organic fertilizers, we suggest doing more research so you can find just the right fertilizer for your garden.

Disclaimer:This article is intended for information about organic fertilizers, farming and gardening only. It should not be regarded as scientific or expert advice in its own right. The information has been taken from secondary sources and is given here in good faith. We recommend you conduct your own research with expert & scientific sources prior to making purchases or applying any technique mentioned here.

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