"Potash (NYSE: POT) scored a technical breakout by rising above $210," says technical expert Leo Fasciocco. In his Ticker Tape Digest, he says, "With earnings set to soar the stock now targets a move to $265."

"Postash, based in Canada, produces fertilizer. It produces phosphate and nitrogen from 12 facilities in the United States and South America. Fertilizer stocks have been strong due to rising profits reflecting strong demand for their products and rising prices.

"A long term chart shows an extraordinary bull market advance with the rising 170% the past 12 months versus an 8% decline in the S&P 500 index. Now, the stock has broken out from a seven-week flat base. The move carries POT to a new high on expanding volume.

For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.

"If you are looking for a quality company paying an outstanding dividend with excellent upside potential, I recommend Terra Nitrogen (NYSE: TNH), my top conservative selection for 2008," says Dennis Slothower, editor of Stealth Stocks.

"The company produces and distributes nitrogen fertilizer products, used primarily by farmers to improve yield and quality of their crops. With the trend toward bio-fuels, the demand for nitrogen fertilizers has an exponential future.

"The company is one of the largest North American producers of anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate and nitrogen solutions, and is the largest producer of ammonia and ammonium nitrate in the United Kingdom.

"I like this stock for several reasons. It pays a very handsome dividend of 7%, but this is also a growth company that is undervalued with a P/E ratio of 12 times earnings but a sales growth rate of 45%.

"The intrinsic value of this stock is $235 a share. This has the potential of doubling or even tripling your investment over the next three to five years while paying an excellent dividend."

This article is part of a 20 article special report on "Metals, miners and money".

"What do flat-screen TVs, organic tomatoes, bathtubs, and hybrid cars have in common? asks international investing expert Frida Ghitis. The contributing editor to Global Investing explains, "All have a promising future and are produced with key materials brought to you courtesy of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE: SQM)."

Indeed, the company is unusual among miners -- and unique among the stock featured in this resource report -- as the firm is a non-metal miner. Says Ghitis, "Everything SQM sells comes from mines in Chile's Atacama Desert, the driest place on earth. SQM, once state-owned, exploits the unique mix of nitrates, iodine, and lithium in the rich caliche deposits.

"These are the largest known reserve of iodine and nitrate, essential elements for human survival. Also in the mix is lithium, increasingly a staple in electronics.

"Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile is a large non-metal mining and chemical operation, with a market cap of more than $2 billion and sales that broke the $1 billion mark in 2006. From its South American perch, it is a true global enterprise; its products are sold in over 100 countries by agencies in more than 20.

For a defensive play that offers exposure to commodities but is not considered vulnerable to the economy, both Mark Skousen and Nick Vardy have added fertilizer producer Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) to their buy lists.

"Steadily increasing demand for ethanol has lead to a 15% increase in U.S. corn plantings, according to the Department of Agriculture," explains Mark Skousen, who points out that crops such as wheat and rice are experiencing high demand as well.

In his Hedge Fund Trader, the advisor says, "As a result, global selling prices for major crops are at their highest level in more than a decade. Farms are pulling out all the stops to maximize production. And the first order of business, of course, is making full use of agricultural fertilizers, chiefly potash."