rHiNoBaLlS - 6/6/2012 21:28 No competition. All the coops are merging so each coop controls pretty much a whole county now. I have only one choice for NH3 that is local and the other two are 30 miles away. None give "free" bars. Only a handful of independents for other supplies (no Nh3) are left but they are becoming few and far between. Urea bids were around that $625/ton last fall. 100 miles south by FIL, $515/ton. I used that as a bargaining chip to get my bid lower, but still not $515/ton. They know what it costs to ship and store it. For 200 acres of corn, well, it quite honestly wasn't worth the hassle if I can negotiate. Fuel bids are cheaper down south, starter fertilizer, chemical, etc. Most of the time the FIL's cash and carry prices are better than my prepay. Last year 10-34-0 was $425/ton vs $750 locally. I hauled the tender 100 miles to pick up for that difference. You want to support your local guy as much as you can but you start adding it all up and it ends up being thousands on the bottom line.