Phosphate
“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 grower currently broadcast applies P and K ahead of planting but is considering moving to strip-till applications like he uses in corn.
The enzyme in Phosforce is already in the soil but available in limited supply, and application accelerates the biochemical reactions in the soil to tap an previous unused pool of soil phosphorus.
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.
Farmers are making the decision between buying fertilizer now amid some of the tightest crop margins ever, waiting until spring to make purchases or cutting the input all together.
Josh Linville, vice president of fertilizer at StoneX, shares the global factors currently influencing the fertilizer market.
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.
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.
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.
RhizoSorb is being marketed at MAP 2.0
“In this market, there’s a lot of risk from the farm gates to the retail side. So more conversation goes along way this year,” Josh Linville says.
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.
Josh Linville, director of fertilizer at StoneX, talks fundamentals in the fertilizer market.
On a planet with more people than ever before, the discovery of phosphate means that fertilizer will remain a viable food production tool for most of the rest of the century.
Morocco is sitting on 75-85% of proven global phosphate reserves, but projections of phosphate depletion span from 50 to 300 years. John Phipps explains why the concerns about peak phosphate production may be overblown.
Applying too little phosphate fertilizer can draw down your soil “bank account” and reduce yield, especially if the crop is stressed by weather or other factors.
Low Mississippi River water levels are a concern for moving inputs like fertilizer. The worry comes as Florida, a key fertilizer-producing state, cleans up after Hurricane Ian. What will the fertilizer price impact be?
There doesn’t appear to be much price relief on the horizon. Product availability could be limited as well, based on what China and Europe are experiencing.
Matching yield goals to water supply lets you choose the right hybrids and populations for each management zone.