I'd like to share a point.
I live in Winnipeg. I recently made a trip to North Dakota, two weeks ago, and I made an interesting observation there. I realize this is anecdotal, but I spoke to a number of growers, and with regard to anhydrous ammonia, part of the reason for some of the market differential in pricing has to do with a unique situation that's unfolding in North Dakota and Minnesota right now. This is right from the mouths of a number of growers.
They're transitioning away from anhydrous ammonia as a product of choice. A lot of them are moving to soy crops because that doesn't require a lot of fertilizer, but they also are in fear of a number of regulations that are coming their way relating to anhydrous ammonia. Instead of doing virtually nothing in terms of safety regulations, they're now going to have to hydro test, do a pressure test of their nurse tank vessels, as well as do ultra-scans to check for cracks in those vessels. That's a huge undertaking, to go from virtually no safety requirements to very rigorous ones, and it's driving a lot of the growers and the retailers out of the anhydrous ammonia business.
So I believe you're seeing a fair amount of market dumping of anhydrous ammonia to the northern neighbours--i.e. Manitoba and Saskatchewan--because the product is no longer something they wish to deal with from a standpoint of security and safety regulations. They also know there are potential criminal misuses for methamphetamine creation, not to mention just the safety elements.
I don't know how big this is. But there is a small element of dumping going on as a result of North Dakota and Minnesota growers getting out of anhydrous ammonia.
I'd like to point out, Mr. Storseth, that there is an open market right now as it relates to anhydrous ammonia. A grower can take a tank into the U.S. and come back with it filled. Last year there were a lot of growers who took what we call non-plated tanks, where there are no safety designations on them whatsoever. They did come back with tanks full of anhydrous ammonia. It is an open border. The only thing stopping them was the fact that their tanks were not in compliance. There are no security regulations in that case; there are simply safety regulations. And it's not a trade issue; it's a safety issue. They were stopped at the border because they did not have compliance on their tanks, but there is a completely open border as it relates to anhydrous ammonia for growers.