The days of making $3-an-acre glyphosate applications to control weeds are long gone and won’t be coming back.
“Same goes for glufosinate. They’re both going to be more expensive moving forward,” says Tommy Butts, University of Arkansas Extension weed scientist.
Just how high are herbicide costs going to go next season?
On the low side – depending on your specific weed spectrum and infestation level – a robust weed-control program in the Midwest will cost you at least $50 an acre in 2023, says Bill Johnson, Purdue University weed scientist.
“Dealers are just now starting to release pricing sheets yet for 2023, so that’s an estimate only,” he says.
For the mid-South and South, where farmers often overlap herbicides and make three or four applications during the season, Butts says $85 will be a typical investment.
Furthermore, both he and Johnson say $100 per acre – just for products alone – will be a common investment for a broad-spectrum weed control program in corn and soybean crops.
Help Needed
Butts and Johnson say as you look for ways to make your herbicides work harder, consider the contribution a good adjuvant can make.
“When weeds are stressed or hardened off, a good adjuvant can improve herbicide uptake and its performance,” says Butts. “That little tweak might not be something you’d notice in a good year, but when you’re dealing with tough environmental conditions like we had this past season, you’ll see it.”
But don’t cut herbicide rates and expect adjuvants to pick up the control slack, Johnson cautions. Instead, use them as supporting players in your herbicide program.
Identify Their Fit
You have to figure out the adjuvant attributes you need for weed control in order to pick the best supporting player, notes Jourdan Bell, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension agronomist.
“There are numerous adjuvants on the market including nonionic surfactants, crop oil concentrates (COC), methylated seed oils (MSO), buffering agents, antifoam agents, drift control agents, and fertilizers,” she says. “Consequently, there are often questions about adjuvant importance and interchangeability.”
As always read labels and educate yourself on what your specific herbicides require, Butts adds. Along with that, consider what management or environmental factors could impact the success of your weed-control program.
“If your water quality is poor, for instance, a water conditioner might give you a bit of an edge and improve control results,” Butts says. “In a year where we’ll already have a lot going against us, given last year’s challenges, it’ll pay to look at how you can fine-tune your program,” he adds.
What’s The Cost?
For budgeting purposes, expect a good quality AMS or AMS replacement product to cost about $2 an acre. Butts estimates a generic MSO or COC will cost between $3 and $5. Some of the newer, proprietary adjuvants will range upwards of $10 an acre.
“Cost-wise it’s all over the board,” he says. “A lot of companies offer programs and rebates, and this is a good time of year to be checking into those.”
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