High Fertilizer Costs Means it is Even More Important to Follow Agronomic Recommendations on Applying Nutrients to Soil

Apr 05, 2022

By Heather Overton

Our Agronomic Services lab can provide specific and scientifically supported advice on nutrient application. Fertilizer recommendations have changed in the past year, so as farmers look to manage costs, it is even more important for farmers to soil test AND to follow recommendations to avoid adding more than is needed.

Summary:

High input costs are on every farmer’s mind these days as they look for ways to manage expenses and to determine what crops make the most financial sense to grow.
There is still a window of time for farmers to submit soil samples for testing and get a scientific recommendation on how much nutrients need to be applied.
This is not the year to guess on fertilizer needs.
Our agronomists are recommending that farmers spend money on lime to ensure the soil has an adequate pH of 5.8 to 6.2 for mineral soils planned for corn and soybeans. For cotton, you’d need to look at a soil pH of 6.0 to 6.2. This sets the soil up best for nutrient uptake.
Soil testing could save farmers money, especially as fertilizer recommendations for corn, soybeans and small grains have changed over the past year.
No one wants to apply more nutrients than are needed, so I would highly recommend taking soil samples across your farm to see what is needed to optimize production.
The turnaround time in the lab right now is 7 to 10 days, which would still give farmers time to get solid, science-backed information that might help reduce their costs.
For the past two years, Agronomic Services staff have worked with researchers at N.C. State to refine fertilizer recommendations for corn, soybeans and small grains.
That has resulted in an overall recommendation to reduce fertilizer phosphorous for certain crops, which is especially good news given the high input costs today.
In carefully reviewing studies on fertilizer application here in North Carolina, the research has shown that much of the benefit of starter fertilizer is from nitrogen alone.
With phosphorous availability controlled by soil pH, liming soils will ensure that phosphorous in the soil is available for plant uptake.
Potassium and sulfur are other key nutrients for plant growth and production.
We have more than 400 soil types in North Carolina, so, again, soil tests will give growers science-based recommendations that will help ensure good crop production.
That precision is important this year. The bottom line is, “Test, don’t guess.”

Source : ncagr.gov

Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?