Research Seminars @ Illinois

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Tailored for undergraduate researchers, this calendar is a curated list of research seminars at the University of Illinois. Explore the diverse world of research and expand your knowledge through engaging sessions designed to inspire and enlighten.

To have your events added or removed from this calendar, please contact OUR at ugresearch@illinois.edu

Speaker Cheng Bi - Understanding the US Fertilizer Supply Chain

Event Type: Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor: FACS (Food, Agriculture & Commodities Seminar)
Location: 428 Mumford Hall
Date: Apr 16, 2025 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Speaker: Cheng Bi, PhD Student, Dept ACE
Views: 152
Originating Calendar: ACE Seminars; Abstract
Decarbonizing energy sectors has become imperative to slow down climate change. This paper asks how the fertilizer market would react to a shift from using natural gas to renewables, focusing on the sustainability of the U.S. fertilizer supply chain. To answer, we first estimated fertilizer supply and demand elasticity, showing that demand for fertilizer is relatively inelastic, with an average value of -0.64. In contrast, fertilizer supply is elastic, with an average value of 2.0. We show evidence that natural gas price is the primary driver of the supply of fertilizers. Next, we show that a 10% price increase in fertilizers will increase fertilizer production by 20%. Yet, consumption declines by 6.4%, resulting in a loss to farmers equivalent to about 4.12 USD per acre. The evidence suggests diversifying fertilizer production input away from natural gas can alleviate these significant cost changes and benefit farmers. These benefits are in addition to transitioning the fertilizer supply chain to a more decentralized and cleaner one.

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