Micronutrients and Biostimulants.

Micronutrients and Biostimulants.

bio-stimulants soil fertility

I seldom recommend micronutrients.  The reason is that many producers have other issues to correct such as macro nutrient levels and pH. Those issues need to be taken car e of first.  When are to the point of fine tuning then you can look at micronutrients and bio-stimulants.  Karen Corrigan and Terry Gerken offered really good advice in the May Issue of Prairie Farmer.

Potassium is Critical

Potassium is Critical

soil fertility

Often, the first time I sample for a client, potassium is below critical levels.  Potassium is one of the three macro-nutrients we apply regularly in fertilizer.  Several years ago, University of Illinois Professor Mulvaney came out with the notion that we do not need potassium fertilizer.  It has been my experience that crops do respond to potassium when soil test levels are below 230 pounds per acres.  Ideal levels are considered to be 300 to 400 pounds per acre in Illinois. Potassium is critical to help weather a drought.  Levels need to be high because availability goes down when soil is dry.

No-Till Farmer published an article out of Michigan that calls Potassium the overlooked nutrient.  You better not overlook it if you are going for high alfalfa yields.  Potassium is not currently an environmental concern, but over application can be lost on soil exchange sites.  Most people say that there is no need to apply over 300 pounds per acre unless you are growing a high demand crop.

How Little Fertilizer Can You Get by With

How Little Fertilizer Can You Get by With

soil fertility

I read a recent article in No-Till Farmer talking about Postponing P and K applications to save as much as $52 in production cost.  university of Nebraska suggests that perhaps producers can lower costs by fertilizing to sufficiency rather that shooting for ideal levels.  Critical levels tend to be much lower than what we consider to be ideal levels.  What does that mean?  Until your soil test levels reach the critical point your chances of reducing yields are fairly slim.  So does that mean you can cut back?  I have no idea what your current soil test levels are.  If they are already low, then maybe.  Keep in mind that in dry years, potassium availability decreases as soil moisture drops, so keeping K levels right at that critical point may not be a great idea.  Yes your financial situation can come into play, but mining your soil may not be the best idea ever.

Should You use Starter Fertilizer?

Should You use Starter Fertilizer?

soil fertility

I have this discussion with clients regularly.  They want to know if they should use starter fertilizer. They have tried starter and it looks like the corn is getting head start on corn without starter.  The question is and always has been whether or not pretty corn means more money.  I have seen studies on both sides of the issue.  A recent study out of Minnesota Finds that In-Furrow Starter Fertilizer May Not Pay Off. They found what I have seen often in starter fertilizer studies.  It helps sometimes under very specific circumstances.  One of those circumstances is where soil test P levels are very low.  In most other circumstances, the extra green in the spring just pays for itself or costs money.  Another consderation in my opinion is whether or not the producer has the time to mess with starter.  I have seen that those who mess with starter can get a payoff in maintaining over all fertility.  If it works on your operation, go for it, but if not, don't sweat it

Thinking of Applying Sugar?

Thinking of Applying Sugar?

corn soil fertility Soybeans

A practice that has been getting some discussion in th past few years is applying sugar to the crop.  The idea is that sugar will stimulate microbes and speed up release of nutrients from soil minerals.  Producers may be looking at this practice as a way to cut back on fertilizer costs.  Ohio researchers have looked at the practice along with others around the Midwest.  According to an article in No-Till Farmer, they found no yield increase from sugar applications.

Fertilizer Prices

Fertilizer Prices

fertilizer soil fertility

Current fertilizer prices are lower than they  have been in some time, but now is not the time to use your soil as a bank.  Low crop prices mean that over and under fertilization is still not  a good idea.  No_Till Farmer gives projected fertilizer prices for 2016 crop year.

Thinking of Cutting Out Soil Testing?

Thinking of Cutting Out Soil Testing?

Crop Production soil fertility soil testing

With crop prices low, some people are thinking that soil testing is one of the things they could cut out or cut back on.  Kansas State University researchers have studied the issue and found that trying to apply fertilizer without proper data can cost money whether fertilizer is over or under applied. There article on the Economic Return of Soil Testing documents the issue very well.  With lower crop prices, the value of soil testing increases.

In Row or Near Row fertilizer

In Row or Near Row fertilizer

soil fertility

Daniel Kaiser of the University or Minnesota made a presentation called "Management of Fertilizer Placed with Seed."  His presentation left me with little information to recommend in row fertilizer.  He found that in row fertilizer made the corn look better early in the growing season, but did little to improve yields.  To me it is an additional headache not needed at planting time.  There may be situations where it is appropriate, but producers need to keep in mind the extra work. Kaiser did say that potassium in row did nothing for seedling vigor or yield.

Salesmen, especially of liquid products sell their product on the idea that in row placement is more efficient.  You can get the same yields with half the fertilizer.  This might be true in the short run, but if you are looking to maintain fertility. you will need to blanket apply too.  The plant roots do not know that they are supposed to pull fertility from the row only.  I have sampled fields where fertility was  not maintained because of in row fertilization.  Fertility was in the dumper.

Reducing Soil Test Phosphorous Levels

Reducing Soil Test Phosphorous Levels

soil fertility Water Quality

Reducing soil test phosphorous levels when levels are high is an issue that relates to high levels of phosphorous in our surface water.  I read a study today out of Sweden that looked at phosphorous levels for 7 to 16 years to determine if soil test levels would be reduced if no phosphorous is added.  They found that the levels could be reduced, but not as much as removal rates might indicate.That is the good news.  The theory is that dissolved phosphorous in runoff would also be reduced.  The bad news is that dissolved phosphorous in the drainage water was not reduced.  My theory is that it takes time for the phosphorous to move down in the soil, so it will take a lng time to reduce phosphorous in the drainage water.   I would say, you should not give up.  If your P test  is over 100 ppm, you should find some other place to spread manure in order to prevent future problems.

Soil Fertility P and K

Soil Fertility P and K

Nutrient Management soil fertility

I attended a soil fertility seminar sponsored by Extension Service yesterday.  It was a telenet conference and well attended.  The presenters all gave science based, research data supported presentations.

Dr. Fabian Fernandez of University of Minnesota started the day discussing application rates and methods for Phosphorous and Potassium. He discussed the merits of banding vs. broadcast placement of fertilizer and how to soil sample in banded fields.  While I don't recall him saying it flat out, he advocated for multiple cores per sample.

He had research to support his saying that there is little difference in banding vs broadcast.  In one study he found that tillage method made a bigger difference than fertilizer placement.  Strip till did better than No-till.  He also said that you shoould not skimp on rate even if you band fertilizer.

He told us that we should avoid shortcuts when taking soil samples and use our soil test information to manage our P and K.

Saving Money on Soil Fertility

Saving Money on Soil Fertility

fertilizer soil fertility

 Happy New Year!

With lower crop prices, many producers are looking at cutting costs.  One place they might consider cutting is soil fertility.  Is this a good idea?  There is no way to know without a recent soil test, no more than 2 years old.  If you nutrient levels are high enough, there is no requirement that fertilizer be applied every year.  Make sure that Calcium and magnesium levels are at the proper levels so that pH is correct.  Decisions on phosphorous and potassium should be based on soil test.  Sulfur is much like nitrogen, so if your soil test indicates that you need sulfur, you should not really cut back much.  

Nitrogen on corn is a place to look at cutting back.  The first thing you can do is use nitrification and urease inhibitors as appropriate for your fertilizer material.  They will not save you under really poor conditions, but they can buy you some time.  The next thing you can look at is sidedressing nitrogen.  You can easily reduce your rate by 25% if sidedressing.  Another thing to look at is the maximum return to N (MRTN).  Researchers in the midwest have accumulated a lot of data over the years and are recommending nitrogen be applied based on economic factors (corn rice and nitrogen price) instead of yield goal and removal.  You should at least be looking at the N-rate Calculator to factor cost prices into your decision. 

Variable rate is another factor to look at to cut costs.  I am sold on VR Lime, phosphorous and potassium.  VR nitrogen is a little more tricky, but using some sort of a chlorophyll sensor might be useful.  Pre-sidedress nitrate testing can help you pinpoint how much nitrogen to use as well. 

I know a lot of what I mentioned cost money to implement, but the savings can be substantial. 

Will the Cold Affect Soil Sampling Results?

Will the Cold Affect Soil Sampling Results?

soil fertility

The short answer is maybe.  So why was I out there getting frost bitten fingers today?Yes it was that cold. 

We sample our repeat customers at the same time of year every year.  That way if we are looking for trends,we are likely to have similar conditions every year.  There are certain customers that we almost always sample when the weather is very cold.

Eventhoughwearelikely to get consistent results, it was still no fun out there.

Boron Deficiency

Boron Deficiency

soil fertility

Prairie Farmer recently posted an article on Boron Deficiency in corn. The article indicates that boron deficiency may be more prevalent than we thought.  i will certainly be looking more closely at my soil reports.  One of the problems with boron management sthat availability is pH dependent.  If your pH is not between 6 and 7, you need to correct that first. also keep in mind that most micro-nutrients need to be applied sparingly. To much can poison your plants and soil. Often we look for plant deficiency symptoms, and think we do not have an issue if we don't see it.  Timely tissue testing could help with micro-nutrients s well.