Reviewed August 2026 against USDA farmdoc daily, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, and USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries.

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US average DAP (diammonium phosphate) prices reached $912.22 per ton on August 7, 2026, up from $857/ton in late March 2026 and $830/ton in late February 2026, according to USDA-sourced data compiled by University of Illinois farmdoc daily. Potash sat at $402 per metric ton in June 2026 per USDA market data, after trading in a $358–$488/MT band across the first quarter of the year. This article breaks down both trends with sourced figures and shows exactly where to pull next month’s numbers yourself.

Introduction: Why DAP and Potash Prices Matter

Fertilizer is one of the largest controllable line items on a US farm budget, and DAP and potash are two of the three inputs that set that number. DAP supplies both nitrogen and phosphorus; potash supplies potassium. When either moves 10-20% in a season, row-crop margins move with it. This piece tracks both using USDA and USGS data, plus what’s driving the current trend and how to pull a fresher number than the one printed here.

• DAP price trend: $830 (late Feb 2026) → $857 (late March 2026) → $912.22/ton (Aug 7, 2026), all-region US average, per USDA/farmdoc daily.
• Potash price: $402/MT (June 2026, USDA), inside a $358–$488/MT first-quarter range.
• Supply-side driver: Chinese phosphate export restrictions cut an estimated 30% of global phosphate supply availability in Q1 2026, per industry analysts.
• How digital intelligence platforms like Farmonaut connect mineral-supply visibility to fertilizer sourcing decisions.

DAP Price Trend: The 2026 Numbers

DAP (diammonium phosphate, 18-46-0) is priced and reported by USDA as a US all-region average, and separately by region in USDA AMS market news reports. Three data points from 2026 show the direction clearly:

That’s a roughly $82/ton increase — about 10% — from late February to early August 2026. Separately, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service reported Corn Belt DAP prices ranging $640–$740/ton during the spring 2026 market window (Q1–Q2), a lower band than the national all-region average, reflecting regional basis differences between Gulf, Corn Belt, and other reporting zones. Full detail on regional DAP pricing, including the Gulf NOLA benchmark that most Corn Belt basis levels reference, is in USDA AMS report AMS-3726.

Read this trend with a specific number attached to it, not a general “prices rose” statement: the increase accelerated after March, roughly doubling its pace of climb between the March-to-August stretch versus the February-to-March stretch. If you’re pricing DAP for fall 2026 application or planning spring 2027 purchases, use the August 7 figure as your most recent anchor and check the refresh method below for the current number, since this figure will already be dated by the time you read it.

Potash Price Per Tonne: Current US Data

“Potash price per tonne” and “price of potash” cover a market with more moving parts than DAP, because potash prices vary by product (muriate of potash, or MOP, versus other K₂O sources) and by whether you’re looking at a spot price or the annual USGS mine-price benchmark. Here’s what’s actually published:

• $402/MT — US potash price, June 2026, per USDA market data.
• $358–$488/MT — potash price range across Q1 2026 (January–March), per industry sources.
• $1,200/MT — US potash f.o.b.-mine price for all products on a K₂O-equivalent basis in 2025, a 4.3% year-over-year increase, per USGS Mineral Commodity Summary 2025.
• $600/MT — average US price specifically for muriate of potash (MOP) in 2025, a 13% year-over-year decrease, per the same USGS summary.

The gap between the $1,200/MT K₂O-equivalent figure and the $600/MT MOP figure is not a contradiction — they measure different things. The K₂O-equivalent price normalizes all potash products to their potassium-oxide content, while the MOP figure is the average transaction price for the single most common potash product. If you’re budgeting per-acre costs, the MOP price is the more directly usable number for a standard potash application.

On volume: US marketable potash production (K₂O equivalent) totaled 500,000 metric tons in 2025, against a global potash production figure of 49,000,000 metric tons in 2025 — a 5% year-over-year increase, per USGS Mineral Commodity Summary 2026. That means US mines (concentrated in New Mexico and Utah) supply roughly 1% of world potash output, which is why US potash prices track global — especially Canadian — supply and export conditions closely rather than moving independently.

Fertilizer Cost Calculator

Estimate your own per-acre DAP and potash cost using the current price ranges above and your own application rate and acreage.

Assumes 2,000 lbs per ton, applies your entered price directly to your entered rate, and excludes freight, application labor, taxes, and any regional basis adjustment (see the Corn Belt DAP range of $640–$740/ton in the AMS report above versus the national average). Default prices are the US average DAP price for August 7, 2026, and the US potash price for June 2026, both cited above — replace them with your local elevator or co-op quote for an accurate figure.

Fertilizer Costs and Farming Impacts

DAP supplies nitrogen and phosphorus; potash supplies potassium for root development, water-use efficiency, disease resistance, and yield stability. Fertilizer commonly runs 30–45% of total per-acre crop production costs on US row-crop operations, which is why a $82/ton move in DAP (the February-to-August 2026 change documented above) or a $130/MT swing in potash (the Q1 2026 range) shows up directly in per-acre budgets.

How Rising DAP and Potash Prices Change Farm Decisions

• ✔ At $912.22/ton DAP, a 150 lb/acre application rate costs roughly $68/acre for the DAP component alone — up from about $64/acre at the March 2026 price of $857/ton.
• ✔ Potash's agronomic need is steady across a season: unlike nitrogen, potassium is less prone to environmental loss, so application timing is flexible but the total dose is less negotiable without yield risk.
• ✔ Rising input costs push more growers toward soil testing, zone mapping, and variable-rate application to avoid applying full rates on parts of a field that don't need them.
• ✔ Regional basis matters: the USDA AMS Corn Belt DAP range of $640–$740/ton during spring 2026 sat well below the national all-region average, so a grower's actual local quote can differ meaningfully from the headline number.

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Supply Drivers: China, Mines & Freight

Two structural factors sit behind the 2026 DAP and potash numbers above.

Phosphate: China's Export Restrictions

Industry analysts estimate that Chinese phosphate export restrictions reduced global phosphate supply availability by roughly 30% in the first quarter of 2026. China is one of the largest global phosphate producers, and reduced export volume tightens the DAP market for import-reliant buyers, which lines up with the climb from $830/ton in late February to $912.22/ton by early August 2026.

Potash: US Mine Supply and Global Concentration

US potash mines, concentrated in New Mexico and Utah, produced 500,000 metric tons (K₂O equivalent) in 2025 against global production of 49,000,000 metric tons in 2025 — meaning roughly 99% of world potash supply originates outside the US, per USGS. Canada is the dominant supplier to the US market. That concentration is why US potash prices move with international mine output, export policy, and freight conditions rather than domestic production alone.

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A Note on Cobalt and Farm Equipment Costs

Cobalt does not appear in the current research for this article's core figures, and no verified 2026 cobalt price is included here. Cobalt is relevant to farm economics indirectly — it's a component in batteries used in electrified equipment, sensors, and off-grid solar/storage systems on some operations — but this page focuses on DAP and potash pricing, which are its assigned subject. For current cobalt price data, the London Metal Exchange and USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries (the same USGS series cited above for potash) both publish cobalt figures; check those directly rather than relying on a fertilizer-focused source for a metals price.

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Satellite-Based Mineral Detection: What It Does

Using hyperspectral satellite data, Farmonaut identifies mineralized zones, alteration halos, and geological features across large areas. This helps investors, mining companies, and agribusinesses make faster, better-targeted sourcing decisions, with reported cost savings of 80–85% versus traditional ground-survey-first exploration.

• ✔ Time Advantage: Analysis completed in days rather than months
• ✔ Environmental Benefit: Zero ground disturbance during the reconnaissance stage
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How to Check Next Month's Prices Yourself

Every figure in this article has a publication date attached because fertilizer prices are reported on a rolling basis, not as a fixed annual number. Here's the durable method for pulling a current figure instead of relying on this page's numbers as they age:

1. DAP, all-region US average: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Monthly Market News. Go to ams.usda.gov/mnreports and search report code AMS-3051 (general fertilizer prices) or AMS-3726 (DAP-specific, the report cited for this article's Corn Belt range). Reports update monthly, roughly 3-5 working days after month-end.
2. DAP and potash, farm-level trend context: University of Illinois farmdoc daily republishes USDA fertilizer data with year-over-year comparisons; search "fertilizer prices" at farmdocdaily.illinois.edu for the latest post in that series.
3. Potash, annual US production and mine pricing: USGS publishes a Mineral Commodity Summary for potash every year at pubs.usgs.gov (the 2025 edition cited above covers full-year 2024 data reported in early 2025; look for the current year's edition using the same URL pattern with the year updated).
4. State-level "prices received by farmers": USDA NASS publishes a monthly "Agricultural Prices" report at nass.usda.gov with state-level detail on prices farmers actually paid, which this article's national averages don't capture. Search "prices received by farmers" on the NASS site for the current release.

Two things this article could not verify from the research available: regional farm-gate DAP and potash prices broken out by US state for 2026 (USDA AMS reports Gulf/NOLA benchmark pricing, but state-level retail figures weren't available in this research pass — use the NASS report above for that), and a breakdown of 2026 potash pricing by product type (SOP versus MOP versus K-mag) beyond the aggregate MOP and K₂O-equivalent figures cited. If you need either, the USDA AMS and NASS links above are the direct path.

Strategic Responses: Managing Input Cost Risk

With DAP up roughly 10% since late February 2026 and potash trading in a wide Q1 band before settling near $402/MT in June, here's what to do with that information:

1. Lock in timing, not just price: The USDA AMS Corn Belt range ($640–$740/ton) sitting well under the national average ($912.22/ton by August) shows regional basis can be worth $170-270/ton — get a local quote before assuming the national figure applies to you.
2. Don't cut potash first: Potassium's agronomic role in root development and disease resistance means a cut there compounds into yield risk, not just a one-season savings.
3. Use soil tests to target, not blanket-cut: Variable-rate application based on zone mapping preserves yield on high-response zones while trimming spend on zones that don't need full rates.
4. Track the China phosphate story: The 30% global phosphate supply reduction tied to Chinese export restrictions in Q1 2026 is a specific, checkable policy event — watch for its reversal or extension as the clearest single signal on where DAP heads next.
5. Watch mineral supply upstream: Tools like satellite-based mineral detection and Farmonaut's mining platform give visibility into new mine development timelines that eventually affect potash and phosphate supply.

Frequently Asked Questions: DAP, Potash & Fertilizer Pricing

Conclusion

The DAP price trend and potash price per tonne are moving on different tracks in 2026: DAP up roughly 10% from $830/ton in late February to $912.22/ton by August 7, driven in part by an estimated 30% cut to global phosphate supply availability tied to Chinese export restrictions; potash holding closer to flat, at $402/MT in June after a $358–$488/MT first quarter. Both numbers will have moved again by the time you read this — use the USDA AMS and USGS links above to pull the current figure rather than treating this page's numbers as fixed.

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