Omnigence research spots a North American fertilizer efficiency edge

Omnigence Asset Management published new research on Nov. 4 comparing fertilizer efficiency across grain systems in the U.S., Canada, Brazil and China. The study says North American grain production uses less fertilizer per unit of output, a finding that could matter for farmland investors exposed to input price swings.

Why it matters: - Fertilizer is one of grain production’s most volatile costs. - Lower nutrient intensity can reduce direct exposure to fertilizer price shocks. - The research is aimed at investors looking at farmland as an inflation- and input-sensitive asset class.

What happened: - Omnigence Asset Management published a new paper, Fertilizer Efficiency in Four Grain Systems: The North American Input Advantage. - The study compares fertilizer efficiency in the United States, Canada, Brazil and China. - The analysis was released Nov. 4, 2026, in Calgary. - The paper uses 63 years of Food and Agriculture Organization data, from 1961 to 2023.

The details: - Based on three-year averages through 2023, a tonne of grain used about 13 kg of applied nutrient in the United States and 32 kg in Canada. - The same measure was 53 kg in China and 62 kg in Brazil. - On a per-hectare basis, Canadian and US growers operate at roughly a third of the nutrient intensity of Brazilian and Chinese growers. - The United States is the only one of the four countries that produces more grain per kilogram of nutrient today than in 1961. - Since 1980, US cereal yield has doubled while the application rate rose 14%. - The paper ties that US performance to genetics, seed placement, drainage and nutrient timing rather than higher fertilizer volumes. - Brazil and China have followed a more input-intensive path. - In China, the application rate has fallen 20% from its 2014 peak while yields rose another 8%. - The paper says that suggests some earlier fertilizer use was adding little to output. - A separate section expands the comparison to 14 countries and looks at farmland investing implications. - Fertilizer prices are influenced by natural gas and phosphate rock. - Price spikes in 2021 and 2022 showed how sharp those swings can be.

Between the lines: - The study points to an efficiency gap between North American grain systems and two major intensification markets. - That gap may matter more when fertilizer prices rise, because lower-input systems face less direct cost pressure. - The investor angle suggests Omnigence is framing farmland partly as a hedge against variable input costs, not just a land-value play.

What's next: - Omnigence said the research is meant to give allocators a long-run, data-based view of input efficiency across farmland markets. - Future farm-level results will still vary by crop, region and management practices. - More information