Reviewed September 2026 against USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, FarmDoc Illinois/USDA, and Mosaic Crop Nutrition.

Try it: Run your own numbers →

Ammonium Sulfate Nitrogen Content: 21% N, Current US Prices

Ammonium sulfate [(NH₄)₂SO₄] carries 21% nitrogen by weight, all of it in the ammonium (NH₄⁺) form, plus roughly 24% sulfur as sulfate — a fixed ratio set by the compound’s chemistry, not by brand or supplier. Compare that against ammonium nitrate, which runs 34.5% nitrogen, and you can see why the two products get shopped against each other on a cost-per-pound-of-N basis rather than a cost-per-ton basis. US distributor pricing for ammonium sulfate has recently run $588–$786 per ton depending on state, according to USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.

This article answers the two things growers, agronomists, and procurement buyers actually search for: the exact nitrogen (and sulfur) percentage in ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate, and what US distributors are currently charging for it. It also covers how ammonium nitrogen behaves once it’s in the soil, how ammonium sulfate stacks up against ammonium nitrate and urea, and — because the query shows up in search data even though it’s a different topic — a short, honest note on the nitrogen content of coffee grounds.

Ammonium Sulfate Nitrogen Content: The 21% Number Explained

The nitrogen content of ammonium sulfate is fixed by its molecular formula, (NH₄)₂SO₄: two ammonium ions per molecule, both contributing nitrogen, against a molecular weight that works out to 21% N by weight in commercial granular product — this is the figure Mosaic Crop Nutrition publishes for standard granular ammonium sulfate and it is what appears on the guaranteed-analysis tag of a bag or bulk delivery ticket in the United States. The same molecule supplies about 24% sulfur as sulfate, which is the other half of why growers buy it: it is one of the few common nitrogen sources that also corrects sulfur deficiency in the same application.

That 21% figure answers the related searches directly: n content in ammonium sulphate and n in ammonium sulphate are the same number — 21% — just phrased differently (US labeling uses “sulfate,” British and some international labeling uses “sulphate,” but the compound and its nitrogen content are identical). If a specific bag or shipment shows a different number, check the guaranteed-analysis label on that lot; minor formulation variants (e.g., granular vs. crystalline, or blends) can shift the percentage by a point or two, but 21% is the standard reference value.

• Formula: (NH₄)₂SO₄
• Nitrogen content: 21% N, entirely in ammonium (NH₄⁺) form — source: Mosaic Crop Nutrition
• Sulfur content: approximately 24% S as sulfate
• Form: granular, water-soluble, no volatile ammonia loss risk in the way urea has (no urease-driven hydrolysis step)

Ammonium Sulfate Prices: What US Distributors Are Charging

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) publishes bi-weekly fertilizer price reports drawn from distributor surveys, and these are the most current, citable US price data available without a paid market-research subscription. The national average distributor price for ammonium sulfate reported by AMS is $786 per ton; the Pennsylvania-specific AMS report shows a lower average distributor price of $588 per ton, illustrating how much regional freight, supply, and demand can move the number even within the same country. Separately, Intratec’s import-based commodity price assessment for the US put ammonium sulfate at $288 per metric ton for Q2 2026 — a materially different figure because it tracks import/wholesale pricing rather than retail distributor pricing, which is the gap between what a bulk terminal pays and what a farm-gate customer pays.

Those three numbers are not contradictory; they are three different points in the supply chain (national distributor average, one state’s distributor average, and wholesale import pricing), and the spread between them — roughly $288 to $786 per ton — is itself useful information: it tells a buyer how much room there typically is between wholesale and retail, and that state-level shopping is worth the phone calls.

Nitrogen Ammonium: How NH₄⁺ Behaves in Soil

“Nitrogen ammonium” — the ammonium ion, NH₄⁺ — is a positively charged form of plant-available nitrogen. Because most agricultural soils carry a net negative charge on their clay and organic-matter surfaces (cation exchange capacity, or CEC), ammonium binds to those surfaces and resists leaching far better than nitrate (NO₃^–), which carries a negative charge and moves freely with soil water.

• Ammonium is held near the root zone by cation exchange, reducing leaching losses versus nitrate.
• Soil microbes convert ammonium to nitrate through nitrification — a process that releases hydrogen ions and gradually acidifies the soil, which is why repeated ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate use calls for periodic lime application on sensitive soils.
• The ammoniacal nitrogen and ammonium nitrate fertilizer guide covers the nitrification pathway, pH effects, and application timing in more depth than this article’s scope.

US-wide, most nitrogen fertilizer is not actually applied as ammonium sulfate. According to FarmDoc Illinois’ analysis of USDA data, urea accounts for about 50% of total US nitrogen fertilizer use, and roughly 25% is applied as direct anhydrous ammonia. Ammonium sulfate occupies a smaller, specialty niche — it’s chosen specifically where sulfur is also needed, or where its acidifying effect is useful (for example, to lower pH around alkaline-soil ornamentals or acid-loving crops), not as a general-purpose bulk nitrogen source.

Corn, wheat, and soybeans — the three largest US row crops by nitrogen-fertilized acreage — have received nitrogen fertilizer on 92–95% of planted acres since a 2002 USDA baseline, per the same FarmDoc/USDA dataset, which is a useful anchor for how central nitrogen management is to US row-crop economics generally, even though ammonium sulfate itself is a minority share of that total.

Ammonium Nitrogen vs. Ammonium Nitrate vs. Urea

These three are easy to conflate because the names overlap, but they’re distinct products with different nitrogen concentrations and different behavior:

• Ammonium sulfate — 21% N, 24% S, 100% of its nitrogen in ammonium form. Chosen when sulfur is also deficient.
• Ammonium nitrate — 34.5% N, per CF Industries’ product specification, split roughly half ammonium and half nitrate. Higher nitrogen density per ton means lower freight cost per unit of N, but no sulfur, and the nitrate half is more leaching-prone.
• Calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) — typically 27% N, per Mosaic Crop Nutrition, blended with calcium carbonate to reduce the acidifying effect of straight ammonium nitrate.
• Urea — commonly 46% N, the highest-analysis dry nitrogen fertilizer and the largest single source of US nitrogen fertilizer at roughly half of total use, per FarmDoc/USDA.

For nitrogen content in ammonium nitrate fertilizer specifically: it is a fixed 34.5% N, both forms combined — that figure comes directly from CF Industries’ published product data and does not vary by region or supplier the way a market price does, because it’s a chemical formulation spec, not a market condition.

A Quick Note on Nitrogen Content of Coffee Grounds

This is a different subject from ammonium sulfate — spent coffee grounds are an organic soil amendment, not a mineral fertilizer — but it’s a common search alongside nitrogen-content questions, so here’s the honest, sourced answer rather than silence: spent coffee grounds carry roughly 2.1% nitrogen (with an approximate NPK ratio of 2.1:0.3:0.3), according to composting guidance compiled from Oregon State University Extension. That’s about a tenth of ammonium sulfate’s nitrogen concentration, and the nitrogen in coffee grounds releases slowly as the organic matter breaks down rather than being immediately plant-available the way ammonium sulfate’s mineral nitrogen is. Coffee grounds are better understood as a soil-conditioning compost input than as a nitrogen fertilizer substitute — if you need to correct a measured nitrogen deficiency, a soil test and a mineral source like ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, or urea will get there far faster and more predictably than grounds will.

Comparison Table: N and S Content by Fertilizer Source

Sources: Mosaic Crop Nutrition (ammonium sulfate, CAN), CF Industries (ammonium nitrate), Oregon State University Extension (coffee grounds).

Calculator: Ammonium Sulfate Cost per Pound of Nitrogen

Enter your local delivered price and ammonium sulfate’s fixed nitrogen and sulfur percentages to see your actual cost per pound of nutrient — the number that lets you compare it fairly against ammonium nitrate or urea quotes.

Assumes standard 2,000 lb short tons and the guaranteed-analysis percentages you enter; it does not include freight beyond what's already in your delivered price, application equipment cost, or losses from volatilization/leaching. Update the price field with your own current distributor quote — see the refresh method below.

Managing Ammonium Sulfate in the Field

Because 100% of ammonium sulfate's nitrogen starts in ammonium form, it behaves differently in soil than nitrate-based or urea-based products in three practical ways:

• Lower initial leaching risk: ammonium is retained by soil CEC near the root zone until nitrified, unlike nitrate which moves with soil water immediately.
• Acidifying effect: nitrification of ammonium releases H⁺ ions, so repeated ammonium sulfate applications on unbuffered soils will lower pH over time — monitor and lime as needed, generally targeting pH 6.0–7.0 for most row crops.
• No urea-style volatilization step: unlike urea, which must first hydrolyze (releasing ammonia gas risk if left on the surface), ammonium sulfate's nitrogen is already in stable ammonium/sulfate ionic form, reducing (though not eliminating) surface-application loss risk.

Mapping Soil Nutrient Status for Mining-Infrastructure Projects

Nitrogen and sulfur management extends beyond row-crop agriculture into land reclamation, where disturbed or mining-impacted soils are frequently both nitrogen- and sulfur-deficient. Leverage Farmonaut's satellite based mineral detection to analyze nutrient status, mineral content, and critical soil factors across a reclamation or exploration project area, helping target ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate applications to the zones that actually need them rather than blanket-treating a whole site.

Map Your Mining Site Here: mining.farmonaut.com to get started on responsible, efficient land planning for a reclamation or exploration project.

How to Get a Current Price or Content Figure Yourself

Every price in this article has a shelf life; the nitrogen-content percentages do not (they're fixed by chemistry). Here's how to check each independently:

• Ammonium sulfate distributor prices: visit USDA AMS's ammonium sulfate report or search ams.usda.gov for your state's fertilizer report — AMS updates these on a bi-weekly cycle, and the report date is in the PDF filename, so you can confirm how current the number you're reading actually is.
• National nitrogen-source market share (urea, anhydrous ammonia, etc.): FarmDoc Illinois' "Trends in Fertilizer Use and Efficiency" updates annually each May using fresh USDA NASS data — check back each spring for the year-over-year shift.
• Coffee grounds nutrient content: land-grant extension services (Oregon State, North Carolina State, Clemson) maintain composting guides that are refreshed seasonally with updated analyses.
• Your own local ammonium sulfate cost per pound of N: use the calculator above with whatever quote your supplier gives you.

Note also what isn't publicly available without a paid subscription: total US ammonium sulfate consumption volume in tons/year, a full five-year price history against competing nitrogen sources, and region-by-crop adoption breakdowns. If your work depends on those, a paid market-research service or a direct USDA NASS data request is the path — this article won't manufacture numbers that aren't published.

Frequently Asked Questions: Ammonium Sulfate & Ammonium Nitrogen

Connect with Farmonaut for Efficient, Sustainable Solutions

• 📞 Contact Us: farmonaut.com/contact-us
• 📝 Get a Quote for Mining or Agricultural Intelligence: farmonaut.com/mining/mining-query-form
• 🗺 Map Your Mining Site Here (Start Now!): mining.farmonaut.com
• 🛰 Satellite Based Mineral Detection: Explore our digital soil and mineral detection platform.

As a satellite data analytics company, Farmonaut supports agriculture, forestry, and mining-related projects with real-time, non-invasive mineral detection and soil health intelligence for informed nutrient and land-use planning.