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May 11, 2006 NDSU Offers Tips to Beat High Fertilizer Prices The efficient use of fertilizer and soil testing are two methods to keep fertilizer bills as low as possible, says a North Dakota State University soil science specialist. The key is holding down costs without hurting yields, says Dave Franzen of the NDSU Extension Service. “The data we have on wheat and corn suggest a 10 percent to 15 percent reduction is justified, if costs are between 30 and 40 cents per pound of nitrogen (N),” Franzen says. “In addition, I recommend that the nitrogen rate formula of 2.5 times yield goal on wheat and 1.2 times yield goal on corn not be based on a wish, but rather on historic data over the last several years.” For example, agriculture economists use a five-year historic average after looking at the last seven years. The economists then throw out the high-yield year and the low-yield year. “For dry beans, our data suggest that inoculated fields top out in yield at between 40 and 50 pounds of N, which also includes residual soil nitrate from the soil test,” Franzen says. “Fields not inoculated top out at about 100 pounds of N per acre, but the response curve is so shallow that reducing the N rate (including residual soil nitrate) to 60 to 70 pounds of N offers little risk to farmers of dryland dry beans. Dry beans grown on irrigated, sandy soils still need full rates, but split into multiple applications.” Soil testing is an important tool for monitoring a field for potential soil problems. Soil testing reveals the nutrient supply capacity of the soil. “Soil testing is our only reliable tool to help plan an N recommendation,” Franzen says. “All other options for developing an N rate are wild guesses at best.” Timing is used to help in soils with leaching issues, especially in sandy soils. If a grower places the entire N on preplant and then a heavy thunderstorm hits several weeks into the season, nitrates could leave the root zone and be unavailable for the crop. Splitting N on sandier soils helps provide more season-long availability in most years. Splitting also is used to hedge against the possibility of after peak-season N cost reductions. However, with the current market conditions, later N buying may not result in lower costs. “In most years, there is no difference in efficiency between fall and spring applications,” Franzen says. “However, in years such as last winter, when the autumn period was long and the winter was warm, there can be considerable potential for losses. Applying N in the fall is usually cheaper than a spring application, but not always. A fall application is not recommended on sandy soils.” Because of higher prices, there may be sellers at a producer’s door touting off-brand products. Franzen advises producers to be wary of some product claims. “Always ask to see the data,” Franzen says. “If the data consists of testimonials or company-generated data, I would not buy the product. If the data includes replicated university trials with significant positive responses, then I might try a test strip, but not try it on a large number of acres the first year, unless there was a lot of good data generated over a series of years.” ### Source:
Dave Franzen, (701) 231-8884, david.franzen@ndsu.edu |
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