Farmers across the globe are grappling with rising fertiliser costs due to global macroeconomic factors – like conflicts and trade wars – but one Canadian start-up is using transparency and digital technologies to help farmers save on input expenses.
Founded in 2024, Clearcost offers a single platform that allows farmers to track fertiliser prices and contract physical deliveries of fertilizes, track the logistics of moving the crop input – whether that be by ship, train or truck – and make payments or receive lending for the crop input, Keith Busch, founder of Clearcost, told AgTechNavigator at the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in London on Sept. 22.
Farmers have free access to the Clearcost platform, but the company owns the data on the purchases, including price, the type of product sold and how much, and when and where the fertiliser was purchased, Busch explained. Clearcost is developing an index for fertiliser prices by digitizing the fertiliser purchase process, he added.
“What we are asking people to do is to go from a handshake and a physically written check and looking somebody in the eye to do a deal to clicking on a button to contract it and send a payment, and they want to know three things. What happens to my money? What happens to the cargo, and if something goes wrong, how are you going to fix it?” Busch elaborated.
He added, “Our software has erased a lot of territorial pricing in the fertiliser industry in North America, which allows buyers to access a better price point outside their medium home market. So, in a low-margin market, like this year, $15, $20, $30 a ton makes a major difference on the bottom line of a farm. The purpose of this software really simply is to de-risk farming. ... We have given [farmers] a tool that I truly believe unpacks the complexity of fertiliser buying through a simple process with transparency, security, [and] convenience.”
Why fertiliser prices are going up
The need for transparent fertiliser prices comes as fertiliser prices are rising due to macroeconomic factors and strong demand, according to a World Bank report.
World Bank’s fertiliser price index rose 15% in the first half of 2025, with triple superphosphate and diammonium phosphate fertilisers rising 43% and 23% in the second quarter of 2025, respectively. Prices are expected to remain above the 2015-2019 average due to a confluence of trade restrictions from China, sanctions on Belarus (a major potash fertiliser producer), and tariffs on Russia and Belarus, according to the World Bank.
“This year, in particular, the grain price to fertilizer price ratio is at a historic low. So, farms are withholding their purchases at the moment, and the demand has been held back. Usually, a lot of purchases get made in June [and] July, after seeding, so the fertilizers bought for the next year. But this year, that has not been the case. And I think a lot of people what we heard are trying to catch a falling knife, and it is going to be an interesting fourth quarter and first quarter next year because of that,” Busch said.
Clearcost is building a platform that provides insight into fertiliser prices accurately and in a timely manner, allowing growers to make informed decisions, regardless of market volatility, Busch explained.
“When there is an information asymmetry, the person with the ... least information is usually getting a raw deal. And so, we tried to put something out there that farms can use to be confident in the purchases that they are making, whether or not they get the best price. It is a global market. There are a lot of drivers in price. But when you are making that decision, it should be fully informed, and you should be confident,” Busch elaborated.
