Fertilizer
As planting dates shift earlier, the nutrient is delivering significant yield responses and surprising protection against sudden death syndrome.
While USDA predicts a shift to soybeans, spiking input costs and Middle East supply gaps have Northern growers weighing corn’s yield potential against a volatile fertilizer market.
Tom Parker farmers corn, soybeans, and tomatoes in La Porte, Indiana. He won’t decide his crop mix this year, until he’s in the field.
Fertilizer prices were already elevated, but they’re now surging just weeks before spring planting. What can be done to ease costs in the short term as well as fix the problem for good?
While farmers are facing higher fertilizer prices due to the Iran conflict the inability to move fertilizer through the Strait of Hormuz is also threatening spring supplies.
Prioritize timing and placement to ensure young corn plants have access to enough N to withstand any disruption from microbial immobilization.
Fifth-generation farmer Justin Wylie is testing algae to rebuild soil health in orchards. By boosting soil microbes through irrigation, he hopes to improve water infiltration, reduce inputs and build resilience in high-cost Central Valley agriculture.
Lane Akre, economist for Pro Farmer says: “It’s not a matter of collusion, it’s a matter of just not enough supply out in the world.”
One of the two major domestic phosphate fertilizer suppliers says the duties should be dropped.
As the Strait of Hormuz faces potential closure, experts warn of supply chain disruptions just as U.S. farmers prepare for spring planting.