Uralkali, which said it made the decision because of disagreements over sales requirements, predicted the move would slash prices by 25 percent to about $300 a metric ton by the end of year. The two had been partners for eight years.

Potash prices rose to around $900 a ton four years ago, according to the newspaper, but sank to around $400 this year.

The move is only one cause for potentially lower fertilizer prices, according to the Illinois Production Cost Report. The other is because of reduced manufacturing constraints of anhydrous ammonia, which could also spark lower nitrogen fertilizer prices.

The USDA reported Aug. 1 that average Illinois price for anhydrous ammonia of $793 per ton, a diammonium phosphate price of $558 per ton, and a potash price of $541 per ton, down more than 5 percent from two-week earlier prices.

The downward movement in prices holds the promise that fertilizer costs in 2014 will be lower than those in recent years, the report reads.  FG

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—Compiled by FG staff from Alistair MacDonald and Lukas I. Aplert report in the Wall Street Journal and Farmdoc Daily