Fertilizer

Patrick Scates runs a service company, not a fertilizer company. His Shawneetown, Ill., terminal is targeted to go live Dec. 1 and is built to let wholesalers share the infrastructure bill.

Your fertilizer program contains mobile and immobile nutrients. Understanding the differences can help you get more ROI from all of them.

After more than a decade of field trials, Eric Miller has found that the highest corn yields don’t necessarily maximize ROI. His work offers insights for other growers looking to improve nutrient efficiencies and protect margins.

A multi-year study at the PTI Farm in Illinois suggests banding phosphorus and potassium at reduced rates can improve returns, but tillage costs and soil fertility levels matter.

Farmers have to manage 2027 costs around a supply crunch driven by the Strait of Hormuz, European gas prices, and falling corn prices. The FIELDS awards committed $1.34 billion to eight domestic fertilizer projects on Oct. 22, and Josh Linville of StoneX says it is a real step in the right direction that still falls well short of what farmers need.

Bigger harvests mean more nutrients leave the field. Evaluating your crop nutrient removal rates can help as you start planning for next season, recommends one field agronomist.

Farmers like North Dakota’s Jay Myers are combining soil testing, alternative resistance sources and crop rotation to stay ahead of the pest—and new technologies are on the way.

Backed by the USDA’s FIELDS program and private funds, eight projects across 16 states will expand domestic capacity by over 1 million tons annually to help lower nitrogen and potash prices for U.S. farmers.