That catalyst was a sharp drop in oil prices followed by a massive credit crisis on Wall Street.   With the chaos that has now ensued, speculators suddenly realized that growth in farming could and would evaporate overnight.

POT dropped as a result and now trade for less $90 shares.  I feel like we have been living in a dream.  The sexiness of fertilizer stocks disappeared in an instant.  We are left with a company that should once again trade as a defensive stock. (See also: "Play Defense With Coca-Cola (KO)" and "Mosaic (MOS): More Than Just a Boring Defensive Stock?")

With a deep recession on the horizon, owning POT at these lower prices makes sense.  All is not as bad as it seems.

The company reaffirmed its plans for expansion last week and believes fertilizer stocks have been hit by an "overreaction" to the financial crisis. The Chinese economy will continue to expand as will consumer incomes across Asia, which means demand for agricultural foods will continue to expand despite what the U.S. economy does. (Be sure to check out: "Why China, Why Now?")

Population growth isn't slowing, particularly in emerging markets. Farmers will continue to demand better crop yields for the foreseeable future. The old real estate truth that "they're not making any more land" holds for POT as well.

POT may be one of the defensive positions that, over time, may offer growth.  It may never be as sexy as it once was, but in this market I'll take cute.

This article was written by Jamie Dlugosch, contributor to InvestorPlace.com. For more actionable insight like this, go to: www.InvestorPlace.com and check out:

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