Natural Gas And Fertilizer

Nice article on fertilizer interest in the US. For archival purposes.

From wiki:

Potassium is the third major plant and crop nutrient after nitrogen and phosphorus. It has been used since antiquity as a soil fertilizer (about 90% of current use). Elemental potassium does not occur in nature because it reacts violently with water. As various compounds, potassium makes up about 2.6% of the weight of the Earth's crust and is the seventh most abundant element, similar in abundance to sodium at approximately 1.8% of the crust.  Potash is important for agriculture because it improves water retention, yield, nutrient value, taste, colour, texture and disease resistance of food crops. It has wide application to fruit and vegetables, rice, wheat and other grains, sugar, corn, soybeans, palm oil and cotton, all of which benefit from the nutrient’s quality enhancing properties.

The fertilizer plants in Jamestown and Grand Forks are for fixing nitrogen using natural gas as the source of hydrogen for making ammonia. 

I have not heard anything about potash (potassium) mining in North Dakota for a long time. Back in 2011-2012, it was said that potash mining in North Dakota would take another 3 to 5 years. With nothing said since then, one wonders.