Nitrogen
Having a soil pH in the neutral to 6.8 range across corn acres can help growers get the best performance from their fertility program — achieving higher yields with better ROI.
“When applied with synthetic nitrogen, it is optimized by 50%, so in other words rates can be reduced–dramatically,” Darin Moon says. “It’s a monstrous claim. We aren’t throwing that number out lightly.”
Among the independent field agronomists’ recommendations: Address your No. 1 yield-limiting factor, employ the 5% rule and fix soil pH.
Growers are trying to figure out what caused missing plants in their corn stands last season and what solutions they can use this spring.
The introduction of N-Finity is an extension of Nutrien’s “purpose-built approach” to biologicals, and it brings three ways to improve nitrogen management in a single product and application.
“There might be ways for farmers to become more efficient with fertilizer while maintaining yield, but only by carefully analyzing each farm, field and soil management zone,” says Ken Ferrie. He shares 4 tips to cut fertilizer with confidence.
The Fertilizer Institute’s 2024 Fertilizer Industry Economic Impact Study details the contributions of the U.S. fertilizer industry to the economy and also explains the global nature of fertilizer markets.
Former Top Producer award winners reveal their management goals for the year ahead.
On Nov. 19, 2023, Iowa farmer Joe Rempe suffered severe injuries from an anhydrous leak while in the field. His fiance, Kendra Vander Leest, not only helped save Joe, but she’s been caring for him since.
In addition to planting soybeans early and applying fungicide, Dan Vogel puts on the appropriate amount of nutrients for the given year, instead of trying to bank nutrients or apply a two-year spread.
The crash occurred when a vehicle passed the tanker and forced it off the road, and according to an interview included in the NTSB report, that vehicle was a minivan driven by a 17-year-old Ohio girl.
Take a controlled, calibrated approach to the process, advises Ken Ferrie. That will help you build a framework for high yields next season and protect soil nutrient levels in the process.
As you begin to rein in production costs, big ticket items such as fertilizer naturally get a lot of scrutiny. Now’s the time to think through how you’ll best allocate available dollars for nutrients.
In recent decades, water quality has declined so seriously in certain bodies of water that federal courts have ordered local and state jurisdictions to take concrete actions to address the problem.
There’s a big crop in the field for many Midwest growers, and it requires fuel. N supplies ears with the energy they need to add kernels all the way to their tips and to pack on weight.
Researchers at Iowa State University have released a new Extension publication that reports county-level average nitrogen use efficiencies.
Josh Linville, vice president of fertilizer at StoneX, shares the global factors currently influencing the fertilizer market.
Tim Laatsch, Koch Agronomic Services director of agronomy for North America, says high quality inputs can make all the difference in an operation’s bottom line.
A new 75,000-square-foot green ammonia fertilizer production and distribution facility is online in Boone, Iowa. The modular plant creates 82-0-0 anhydrous ammonia from air, sun, and water.
Heavy rains and high winds are contributing to dangerous dust storms and other issues in farm country. Ken Ferrie offers his take on stewardship practices that can help growers prevent or minimize these problems.
Residue might hamper uptake, surface cover slows soil warming and most cover crops raise the carbon penalty. Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie shares timing and placement tips for phosphorus, sulfur and nitrogen.
Two new studies from Locus Ag and Pivot Bio found the use of biological products consistently increased yields in a variety of crops across a range of growing conditions.
Nitricity is on a quest to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions via its innovative natural liquid fertilizer manufacturing process. The technology represents a major disruption to the global fertilizer market.
Experts are watching global dynamics to understand the input market’s longer-term outlook in the U.S. Among their top concerns are geopolitics, weather and low supply.
ICIS senior fertilizer editor Mark Milam shares that while the fertilizer market appears to be in good shape at the moment, there are a couple of important trends moving forward this spring.
The survey uses records from ag retailers to measure the use of cover crops, nutrient management and conservation tillage and no-till by Iowa growers.
Once you balance fertility and pH in the soil profile, and adjust to making small, more frequent lime applications, you probably won’t need to mix fertilizer into the soil, says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist.
Red clover can fix nitrogen, suppress weeds and improve crop yields. Based on test plot research in Illinois, a good stand of red clover can provide between 50 and 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre.
“Nitrogen is a farmer’s biggest investment in corn production, so we need to do everything we can to protect it,” said Dan Quinn, assistant professor of agronomy at Purdue University.
If you value the benefits starter fertilizer offers, you might like the performance of a starter fertilizer relay system even more. Farm Journal Test Plot data show a relay system + 2x2 placement = $36 per acre ROI.