Potash is used primarily as an agricultural fertilizer (plant nutrient) because it is a source of soluble potassium, one of the three primary plant nutrients; the others are fixed nitrogen and soluble phosphorus.  Potash and phosphorus are mined products, and fixed nitrogen is produced from the atmosphere by using industrial processes.  Modern agricultural practice uses these primary nutrients in large amounts plus additional nutrients, such as boron, calcium, chlorine, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, sulfur, and zinc, to assure plant health and proper maturation.  The three major plant nutrients have no substitutes, but low-nutrient-content, alternative sources of plant nutrients, such as animal manure and guano, bone meal, compost, glauconite, and "tankage" from slaughterhouses, can be used. Potash denotes a variety of mined and manufactured salts, all containing the element potassium in water-soluble form.

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Annual Publications

Mineral Commodity Summaries

• Potash
    PDF Format:
       | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
• Appendixes

Minerals Yearbook

• Potash
    PDF Format:
       | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 
    XLS Format:
       | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 tables-only release |
• Archive
       | 1932-1993 |

Mineral Industry Surveys

• Potash, Crop Year
    PDF Format:
       | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
    XLS Format:
       | 2003 | 2004 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |

Special Publications

• Fertilizers -- Sustaining Global Food Supplies
• Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities in the United States 
  Data Series 140
  • Potash
• Potash--A Global Overview of Evaporite-Related Potash Resources, Including Spatial Databases of Deposits, Occurrences, and Permissive Tracts
• Potash-A Vital Agricultural Nutrient Sourced from Geologic Deposits 
  Open-File Report 2016-1167
• Technical Announcement: Plenty of Potash, but Some Regions Lack Low Cost Sources for Crop Production